Titus Andronicus

Revenge is a dish best served cold. In this play, it is served boiling, bloody, and baked into a pie.

Shakespeare's first tragedy is his most violent, a relentless, jaw-dropping spectacle of mutilation, murder, and cannibalism that makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme.

Titus Andronicus, a decorated Roman general, returns from a ten-year war against the Goths with the captive Queen Tamora and her sons. When he sacrifices her eldest son to honor his own dead children, Tamora vows revenge. She becomes the mistress of the corrupt Roman emperor and unleashes her fury: her sons rape Titus's daughter Lavinia and cut off her hands and tongue to silence her. Titus feigns madness. He bides his time. And then he invites Tamora and her sons to dinner, where he serves them the meat of her own children, baked into a pie. The body count by the final act is staggering: fourteen corpses, including Titus's own.

This is Shakespeare at his most young and outrageous: a play about the futility of revenge, the cruelty of power, and the point at which tragedy becomes horror. Titus Andronicus was dismissed for centuries as too violent to be Shakespeare, but modern audiences have reclaimed it as a brilliant, blood-soaked masterpiece.

• Shakespeare's first tragedy, written around 1590–1594

• Loosely based on the story of Procne and Philomela from Ovid's Metamorphoses

• Once dismissed as un-Shakespearean, now celebrated as a powerful exploration of violence and grief

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 the most terrible revenge is the one that leaves nothing but ashes.

About the Author

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer 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). Titus Andronicus was written early in Shakespeare's career, around 1590–1594. It was enormously popular in its own time—the first quarto (1594) was reprinted several times—but fell out of favor in the 18th and 19th centuries, when critics found its violence distasteful. The 20th century saw a revival of interest, with landmark stage productions (including a 1955 Laurence Olivier production) and a 1999 film adaptation by Julie Taymor starring Anthony Hopkins. The play's authorship was once disputed, but most scholars now accept it as Shakespeare's. His other major works include Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and The Tempest. He died in 1616 at the age of 52 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.