The merry wives of Windsor

William Shakespeare's comic encore for one of his best-loved characters - the fat and foolish rogue Falstaff fromHenry IVandHenry V-The Merry Wives of Windsoris edited by G.R. Hibbard with an introduction by Catherine Richardson in Penguin Shakespeare.

'We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do,
Wives may be merry, and yet honest too'

In need of money, the fat and foolish Falstaff devises a scheme to seduce two married women and steal their husbands' wealth. By talking to each other, however, the wives soon discover his plan and begin to plot their own revenge. Relentlessly inventive, this comic humiliation of a foolish would-be seducer is a lively, compelling and ultimately joyous celebration of the all-conquering power of laughter.

This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction toThe Merry Wives of Windsor, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, includingRomeo and Juliet(1595),HenryV (1599),Hamlet(1601),Othello(1604),King Lear(1606) andMacbeth(1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English.

If you enjoyed The Merry Wives of Windsor, you might likeA Midsummer Night's Dream, also available in Penguin Shakespeare.

'It never yet had reader or spectator, who did not think it too soon at end'
Samuel Johnson