Othello

Shakespeare Stories #16

by Andrew Matthews (Adapter)

Over two million Shakespeare Shorts sold! Discover the world of Shakespeare with this collection of brilliant stories - perfect for readers of all ages. Othello is a successful Moorish general in the Venetian army, and a caring husband to his new wife, Desdemona. But his closest ally, the cunning villain Iago, is secretly plotting against Othello - and is determined to ruin his newfound happiness... A brilliant retelling of this classic Shakespearean tragedy.

Genres: Classics, Shakespeare, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Chapter Books

51 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 5, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Andrew Matthews was born in South Glamorgan in 1948. Andrew taught English in Hampshire after which he became a full-time writer. He lives in Reading with his wife and their cats. Andrew's work has been widely translated and he has made numerous appearances at schools and libraries throughout the UK.


Source: United Agents.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a limited intelligence-span. I'm no feebleminded buffoon, but I am always bowled over by anyone who can read anything remotely old, though I have read Heidi, which is pretty versed by 2014. I don't know many of the Bard's works (the usual ones everyone says), though I had heard of Othello, despite not knowing any one thing about it. When I discovered this "Shakespeare Stories" series, I became seriously overjoyed. Now, I can read Shakespearian novels! WAHAY! For some odd reason, I didn't realise this was a children's novelization, funnily enough. Matthews does a good job of translating Othello from "To be or not to be" odes to Modern English. The illustrations, by Tony Ross, are grotesquely grim and as for the story, it's a sharp and undoubtedly tragic tale. But I mean, talk about creepy; that ending WAS NOT NEEDED! Someone could've stopped them! Right? Right? God, I am a feebleminded buffoon.

[From Heaven With Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings-murder, suicide

lmao i cba to read the whole play and I want to know the story and I was laughing at the illustrations the whole time bahahahahha XDXDXDXD

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I kissed thee ere I kill thee. No way but this: Killing myself, to die upon a kiss."

[Khorshid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul
But I do love thee, and when I love thee not,
Chaos is come again.♡

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

An English professor once told me that Othello was her favorite Shakespeare story, with the villain Iago one of the most memorable characters in all of his plays. The main premise is one unusual for plays and stories of the seventeenth century, it is an unforced interracial marriage. Less commonly emphasized is the rags to riches aspect of the play. Othello, a black man that escaped slavery and then through bravery in battle rose to the rank of general, is the main character.
He then meets and falls in love with Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian nobleman and she reciprocates the feelings. They are secretly married and are initially very happy when Othello is sent to command a garrison on the island of Cyprus. When they arrive, the despicable Iago engages in an underhanded campaign to create dissension in the garrison and between Othello and Desdemona until there is a great tragedy. It is a story about jealousy, hatred and the all-too-common actions of people that only know how to destroy.
This book captures the essence of the story, which is in many ways more of a tragedy than Romeo and Juliet, for in this case one of the lovers is killed by the other. In many ways the English professor was right, the relationships are more socially complex, and the story is one that is easier for modern readers to relate to. I strongly recommend this book as an introduction to a great play.

[Claire (Book Blog Bird) · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are aimed at bringing Shakespeare to children, but actually I would recommend them to anyone. I read some Shakespeare at school, but there are some of his plays (the historical novels and the non comedies) that I want to know the plot of, but seriously cannot be bothered ploughing through the original text with my Letts notes. These books are the ideal solution. They're detailed enough so you get some characterisation and a good sense of the plot, without being boring. You even get a few quotes, so that you can spout them out in front of other people and pretend you've read the original play. Although I would never do this. Obviously.

[Shveta Bansal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant tragedy ...
I could feel the pain even in the kids version of the book.wonderful story of racism-love-jealousy-suspicion-betrayal-repentance... all in one narration...

[Rockleese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't even tell why I enjoy all this unnecessary drama, but I do

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very heartless.

[Kwong Tsz Yu Adelaide · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book tells us two things, which is not to trust anyone's words or opinion easily and make conclusions by only listening to one sides's story or opinion, otherwise, we may make mistakes easily. Such as Othello, he decided to believe what Iago said about his wife and his lieutenant , as a result, he misunderstood them and even killed them due to Iago's instigation and support. Finally, he couldn't bear to face what he had done and commited suicide.

[selda]

i read it and i thought it was harsh

[Holly]

Read in preparation for A2 English Literature, just to get a basic summary. It is what it is.

[MAK KA · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was talk about a men called Othello he was very rich. I think this story was very boring and scary. The main character died and his lover died also the ending of this story was very sad.

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This deals with racism, love and jealously and it's a tragedy that could impact people in real life so it's more realistic in that aspect

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jealousy leads to a man being fooled into committing a terrible act.

This was a really strong story.

Reading time of approximately 45 minutes (short version aimed at children).

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very dramatic 👍

[The Library Mouse Tales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another title from our boxed set of 16 books of Shakespeare stories. They are adapted versions of popular Shakespeare plays that have been specially re-written as narrative stories for young readers. I recommend as an easy way for children to get a basic understanding of the plot. They are also helpful for older readers who want a summary or re-cap of each play. Instead of Shakespeare’s original words which can be tough to follow, they use simple English and black and white sketches to tell the story and help you understand the plot. Each book contains extra notes about Shakespeare, his Globe Theatre and the themes that are explored in the original play.

This particular book is based on the tragic play about jealousy and weakness.

SPOILER ALERT! Very briefly, the plot of play/story is this: Othello is a noble Army general and has just married beautiful Desdemona against her family’s wishes. He travels to Cyprus to command the Venetian armies, with his new wife and newly promoted lieutenant Cassio. Friend and standard-bearer, Iago, is jealous of Cassio’s promotion. He plots and schemes to persuade Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are seeing each other behind his back! Othello murders Desdemona out of jealousy, then discovers (from Iago’s wife) that she was always faithful and that the whole thing was a lie made up by Iago. Iago immediately kills his wife for betraying him and grieving Othello commits suicide.

[Oriana Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because my sister is doing Othello at school and my family watched Othello last night, and I wanted to be in the loop without donating the time and energy to reading the play. This book was very very quick, pacy and brief which was fantastic for the purpose, especially as this book is designed for children to provide them with a brief insight into Shakespeare in an easy to understand modern format. (Which is why I have this book, its been a feature on the bookshelf since I was about 8) This book took 10 minutes to read and Felt like reading a children’s Wikipedia page about Othello. I would defiantly recommend this book (and the whole series) for anyone wanting a quick brief synopsis of a Shakespeare play or for any parents wanting to show their children Shakespeare in a more simple way.

[Jessica Florian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was 13 or 14. While I have always enjoyed the classics (except Dickens), I have always struggled to find any interest in reading plays. Finding a novelized version of this story was a godsend! I wish I had discovered the rest of this series when I was young, but I fully intend to try to read them now.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to read more Shakespeare's but didn't know where to start so I bought the kids versions of his works. They are easy to understand and have some nice illustrations to look at, plus the covers are in my opinion so cute.
Not necessarily a bad story but not for me...

[Liselotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so glad I've got these tiny books explaining the essence of the Shakespeare stories, as I now know I never want to read the original script to this one.
I really disliked the story and it was just really boring and just a big: ?????????? all the way through.
This play just isn't for me!

[MiR · Rating 3 out of 5]

"ای افسونگر محبوب! تا جانم تباهی پذیرد ، فقط عاشق توام و وقتی به تو عشق نورزم ، آشوب بار دیگر آغاز می شود" اتلو گفت.
.
.
خیلی از داستان اتلو زده و خلاصه وار گفته وگرنه نمایشنامه رو وقتی میخونید اون حسادت و خیانت رو قشنگ هر پرده حس میکنید.
شکسپیر کارش حرف نداره:)

[Goli · Rating 3 out of 5]

اتللو که شخصیتی مغربی و جنگاور است، عشق خود را اثر توطئه یاگو و با همدستی اطرافیان، به اشتباه محاکمه می‌کند و گول می‌خورد.او دزدمونای زیبا را در نهایت پاکی و بی گناهی از دست می‌دهد.
https://taaghche.com/book/9824

[Vcmc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, clear re-telling of the story. Great for children and useful for adults as a quick reference/ reminder of setting, plot, characters.

[Thomas A Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great story to read on the theme of jealousy.

[Sudarshan Bindal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, enough to get a host of the play

[Maggie K]

Cool

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

great over view of the text, covers the main plot points in limited details and has really helped with my summaries

[Eniola Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice simple abridge version of the original, easy to understand if your first getting into Shakespeare.

[Rebecca Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so entertaining from start to finish I really wanted so badly for their to be a happy ending.

I love the fact that throughout all of these books their is always a lesson to be learned.