These versions of Shakespeare plays are so handy and well written, I am collecting them all for my class.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

** “Love is a funny thing … After all, the end is what you remember, not how you get there. All’s well that ends well.” **

Sam Newman retells William Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” for young readers, a story of love, snobbery, distain and hope, with illustrations by Ceej Rowland.

When Bertram’s father dies, he suddenly becomes count, a position he is not yet qualified to be. So the King of France, who is very sick, takes him under his wing. When Helen, whose dead father was a doctor, brings a cure to the king, she asks for Bertram’s hand in marriage in return. However, Bertram is unhappy with this scenario and runs away to war to avoid his new wife. Helen soon follows Bertram in an attempt to win him back. Will Bertram be able to look past his vanity to find love for Helen? Will all end well?

Newman does a brilliant job of retelling a classic Shakespeare tale in five short acts in a way readers of all ages will understand and enjoy. The publisher does include a note indicating Shakespeare’s works can contain sensitive themes so adults should read these stories with their children. However, this story isn’t as sensitive as some of Shakespeare’s others.

Five stars out of five.

Arcturus Publishers provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Fantastic, witty retelling of All's Well that Ends Well for kids, capturing the complicated plot and ambivalently comic mood of the story very well. Helen is an honest, kind young lady who is deeply in love with the rich Count Bertram, but that haughty and devious man does not requite her love.

Helen chooses Bertram as her husband when the king grants her a favor in return for curing his illness. Bertram is enraged and leaves at once, rejecting Helen and giving her a seemingly impossible challenge: "Get my ring from me and make me treat you as my wife first!" Helen is undaunted and secretly follows Bertram, finding out that he is pursuing the affections of another woman who keeps rejecting him. Helen takes that woman into her confidence and they come up with a plan to beat Bertram at his own game and force him to accept Helen as his wife. At the end, children will be happy to see that all is forgiven, and Helen finally gets her "happily ever after", although the moral grounds are somewhat ambiguous.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC!

I have read this book along with many of Samantha Newman's other 'Shakespeare tales' books. I have always been intrigued by Shakespeare's books but have only ever read Romeo and Juliet and that was about 20 years ago when I was in school. When I came across this book I thought it was a perfect way to get these stories out in the world for those who struggle with classic books. I read this book to my son along with him reading them. Malaki is ten years old and has loved reading these along with myself. Along with being interesting and fun books with great narrations they have all included morals/tales of some sort which Malaki enjoys telling me what the lesson to the story is. A great book and I'm looking forward to reading more of them. My son says that he has enjoyed reading them and it is good that there are books from Shakespeares he is able to read and understand.

A great adaptation for younger adults and teens to understand Shakespeare. The story is well done and easily understood. This is a good start for those interested in the works of Shakespeare, but unwilling to read the old English writing.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Shakespeare's Tales: All's Well that Ends Well
by Samantha Newman, Ceej Rowland

Helena is in love with Bertram but there is a couple of problems – firstly Helena is of a lower class and most important Bertram does not love her.

When Helena is given the opportunity to marry anyone she wants, she natural chooses Bertram who immediately declares that he will never treat Helena as his wife..

It was a nice story but I do not think in todays society we would be shown as Bertram really does treat Helena with utter contempt and cheats on her many times.. it is a funny play but there is an uneasy feeling that runs through it about the negatives of getting what you wish for.

I really enjoy these types of novels. They are an easy adaption of the classic Shakespeare play, it makes Shakespeare accessible to all.

This adaption is faithful to the original play and tells the story in a way that we can all enjoy.
#shakespeare #allswellthatendswell #Netgalley #adaption

I really enjoyed Arcturus' series of abridged Sherlock Holmes stories for young readers, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Arcturus have launched a series of abridged Shakespeare tales as well. While Charles and Mary Lamb's classic adaptations will always be my number one choice for introducing young readers to the Bard, I will definitely recommend this new series as well!

This is a nice re-telling of All's Well that Ends Well, one of Shakespeare's less widely-known comedies. The poor girl Helen, the daughter of a renowned doctor who has passed away, is in love with Bertram, the rich son of a count. But Bertram doesn't love her back, considering her social status to be far below his own. When Helen uses her late father's remedies to miraculously save the life of the king, the king grants her the choice of any young man at the court for her husband, she immediately chooses Bertram. A furious Bertram reluctantly marries her, but abandons her immediately, stipulating that he will only accept her as his wife when she can get his ring and be "treated by him as his wife" (in Shakespeare's original play, this condition is that Helen must get herself pregnant with Bertram's child). Helen, undeterred and as much in love with her stony husband as she ever was, secretly pursues him to Florence, where she finds out that he is chasing other girls! Can Helen devise a plan to win the love of her husband and get him to acknowledge her at last? Or is she doomed to watch her beloved running away wantonly with another woman? Young readers will enjoy the cheeky scenes unfolding one after another, and I hope this series will spark children's interest in the wonderful world of Shakespearean drama!

I absolutely love this tale, with the plucky Helen and the rogue Bertram. It’s such a clever story I found and one that was entertaining and effortless to read. I’d never read this Shakespeare tale before so what a great format to introduce it to me for the first time!

It’s a truly great adaptation for younger audiences and also for those who like Shakespeare and want to either refresh it for themselves or are being exposed to it for the first time without the heavier language of its origin. Shakespeare can be hard to read so being adapted whilst keeping the threads of the original story goes a long way to making it more child friendly.

Helen is such a great character, as we follow her determination to win Bertram, not just once but twice! She’s clever and uses her wit to get to marry him and then win him around. A great tale for a story time!

A fabulous way for kids to get the tales from Shakespeare without having to read the plays and understand the old English language. Also great for any ages