Richard II

He believed his crown was given by God. He learned that crowns are taken by men.

Shakespeare's most poetic history play is a study of power, vanity, and the moment a king becomes a man, and discovers he cannot survive as either.

Richard II is a king who believes in his own divinity. He is beautiful, eloquent, and utterly incapable of ruling. He banishes his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, then seizes Bolingbroke's inheritance to fund his own lavish whims. Bolingbroke returns from exile, claiming he only wants what is rightfully his. But the people flock to him. Richard's army deserts. And Richard, alone in his castle, delivers the most heartbreaking speech in any history play: "For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground / And tell sad stories of the death of kings." He is forced to abdicate. He is murdered in prison. And Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV—a king who will spend his reign haunted by the ghost of the man he deposed.

This is Shakespeare at his most lyrical and politically dangerous: a play about the emptiness of divine right, the loneliness of power, and the terrible price of taking a crown. Richard II was so controversial that Elizabeth I famously said, "I am Richard II, know ye not that?"

• Written around 1595–1596, the first play in Shakespeare's second tetralogy (followed by Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and Henry V)

• The only Shakespeare history play written entirely in verse, not prose

• Features the famous "hollow crown" speech and the garden scene, a masterwork of political allegory

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears, or the perfect gift for anyone who knows that a crown is just a circle of gold, and nothing more.

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he moved to London and became a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men). Richard II was written around 1595–1596, during a period of intense creativity that also produced A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet. The play was dangerous: in 1601, supporters of the Earl of Essex paid for a performance of Richard II on the eve of their rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I. The queen later told a scholar, "I am Richard II, know ye not that?" The play's depiction of a weak, beloved king being deposed by a pragmatic usurper resonated dangerously with Elizabeth's own anxieties about succession. Shakespeare's other major works include Hamlet, Henry V, King Lear, and The Tempest. He died in 1616 at the age of 52 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.