A new edition of William Shakespeare's classic play, The Winter's Tale. While often classified among Shakespeare's comedies, The Winter's Tale defies categorization and is often included among Shakespeare's "problem plays" -- plays characterized by their complex and ambiguous tone, often shifting between comic and dark psychological drama. The Winter's Tale is the story of the jealous Leontes, the King of Sicily, who wrongly suspects that the father of his newborn daughter Perdita is actually his best friend Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. Falsely accusing his wife Hermione of infidelity, Hermione dies and the infant Perdita is exiled to be raised by shepherds, before through a series of unlikely events she is reunited with Leontes sixteen years later. A story of jealousy, love, and redemption that features some of Shakespeare's most captivating language, The Winter's Tale remains a must-read for any student of English literature for its brilliant exploration of human emotion and the power of forgiveness. The Winter's Tale is a timeless work of art that will leave readers moved and inspired.

This reading edition is based on the original Cambridge editions, first published for the general public in the 1860s, and contains line numberings based on those editions, omitting scholarly footnotes that detract from the easy-reading experience.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, Shakespeare attended King's New School in Stratford, where he learned Latin and a little Greek and read the Roman dramatists. He married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith.

Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He wrote many of his known plays between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres.

Shakespeare's later works included tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. He was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not truly rise to the heights it is today until the 19th century. Today, his works are amongst the most widely performed and read in the world.

Shakespeare's influence on theatre can be seen in the development of the English language, the use of soliloquies and asides, and the popularity of the romance genre. He is often credited with popularizing the sonnet form in English literature, and many of his works are still studied and performed today. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist.