Hamlet: Staged: the origins of YA’s greatest tropes

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark..."

When Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, hears rumours of his late father's ghost being sighted around the castle, he seeks out the impossible. Upon finding the apparition of the late King, he receives a shocking revelation: his father was murdered.

If that terrible betrayal wasn't enough, the King claims that his murderer is none other than Hamlet's own uncle Claudius; his mother's new husband and new King of Denmark. Furious, Hamlet swears to avenge his father, and devises a plot to feign madness in order to reveal the truth and enact his revenge. But Claudius has his own plans, and soon a chain of events is set in motion that brings devastation to the entire court.

STAGED is a beautifully designed, six-part collection of Shakespeare’s most beloved works and the archetypes that they popularised, celebrating the genius of the Bard and the tropes that continue to delight YA readers to this day.