The life of William Shakespeare is vividly depicted, from his birth in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, childhood and schooldays, through apprenticeship at his father's glove-making shop, his marriage to Anne Hathaway, and then the move to London - where Will hones his skills as an actor-playwright for The Lord Chamberlain's Men. When the newly-built Globe Theatre opens in 1599, Will Shakespeare is a key member of the company, and many of Shakespeare's most famous plays are first performed here. By his death in 1616, William Shakespeare is acknowledged as the master playwright of his age - and ever since as one of the greatest writers of all time.

With lively graphic-novel descriptions of many of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and The Tempest, and drawing on the latest biographical research, this is the perfect introduction for children to the life and works of William Shakespeare.

"I can't think of a book more likely than this enchantingly illustrated tome to connect young people to the greatest, most exciting, most human, most surprising writer of them all. A great achievement." - Simon Callow, Shakespearean actor and biographer

MICK MANNING and BRITA GRANSTRÖM have developed a unique approach to picture information books over the last 21 years. Sharing the illustration between them and mixing words and pictures in inventive ways, they have won many awards, including the Smarties Silver Award, and are five-times winners of the English Association Award. Mick fell in love with wildlife on primary school nature walks many years ago, and has an MA in Natural History Illustration from the Royal College of Art. Brita grew up on a farm, and has an MFA from Konstfack in Stockholm. They spend a lot of their time having both Swedish and British Wild Adventures with their four children. Their other books for Frances Lincoln include: The Beatles, Charles Dickens, Scenes from an Extraordinary Life, What Mr Darwin Saw, Tail-End Charlie, Taff in the WAAF; The Secrets of Stonehenge, Woolly Mammoth;and the Fly on the Wall series: Roman Fort, Viking Longship, Pharoah's Egypt, Greek Hero.

MICK MANNING and BRITA GRANSTRÖM have developed a unique approach to picture information books over the last 21 years. Sharing the illustration between them and mixing words and pictures in inventive ways, they have won many awards, including the Smarties Silver Award, and are five-times winners of the English Association Award. Mick fell in love with wildlife on primary school nature walks many years ago, and has an MA in Natural History Illustration from the Royal College of Art. Brita grew up on a farm, and has an MFA from Konstfack in Stockholm. They spend a lot of their time having both Swedish and British Wild Adventures with their four children. Their other books for Frances Lincoln include: The Beatles; Charles Dickens, Scenes from an Extraordinary Life; What Mr Darwin Saw; Tail-End Charlie; Taff in the WAAF; The Secrets of Stonehenge; Woolly Mammoth; and the Fly on the Wall series: Roman Fort, Viking Longship; Pharoah's Egypt; Greek Hero.