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Every Fanqie book we index, searchable by title, author or tag.
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Shakespeare's Best: Antony and Cleopatra
This majestic Roman tragedy depicts the devastatingly passionate love affair between Roman general Mark Antony and Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Antony indulged in the luxury and love of Egypt, abandoned the political responsibilities of Rome, and broke with Octavian. In the end, Cleopatra was defeated in the naval battle because she retreated before the battle, and committed suicide after mistakenly believing that the queen was dead. Cleopatra then killed herself with a poisonous snake. The work pr
3Reads8.2Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Macbeth
The Scottish generals Macbeth and Banquo are returning from putting down the rebellion. On the way, they meet a witch who predicts that Macbeth will be king and Banquo's descendants will also be kings for generations to come. Encouraged by his ambition and his wife, Macbeth committed regicide and usurped the throne, and then fell into fear and paranoia. In order to consolidate the throne, he slaughtered continuously, including the families of Banquo and Macduff. In the end, they all rebelled and
2Reads8.0Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: the Taming of the Shrew
This comedy unfolds in the form of a play within a play, telling the story of Katherine, the daughter of a rich man from Padua, who is known for her fierce personality, and Petruchio is determined to "tame" her in exchange for a generous dowry. He used the methods of treating others as they were treated: denying the facts, confusing right and wrong, and mentally sharpening her, and finally made Catherine an obedient wife and delivered the famous speech "A wife should obey her husband." The play'
1Reads7.7Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Everyone Likes It
This pastoral comedy is full of poetry and philosophy. Rosalind, the exiled daughter of a duke, fell in love with Orlando, who was persecuted by her brother. In order to test each other, Rosalind disguised herself as a man and met Orlando in the Arden Forest. In the play, the clown's touchstone's witticisms, Jaques's exclamation of "seven steps of life" and the wonderful encounters of many characters jointly build a utopian world far away from court struggles. In the end, the wicked repent and t
1Reads7.7Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: a Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare's most imaginative romantic comedy sets the story of four Athenian lovers on a magical night in a mysterious forest. The dispute between the Fairy King Oberon and the Fairy Queen Titania, the naughty elf Puck's misuse of magic juice leading to confusion in love, and the farce rehearsed by a group of amateur craftsmen, multiple clues are intertwined into an interesting summer night fantasy. The work explores the irrationality and unpredictability of love, and satirizes people's blind
1Reads7.8Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: the Merry Wives of Windsor
Shakespeare's only comedy set in the life of British citizens, full of market humor. The broken knight Falstaff simultaneously wrote letters of love to two wealthy businessmen's wives, Ford and Peggy, in an attempt to defraud money. Instead, he was set up a trap by the two witty ladies. He was successively put into a dirty clothes basket and thrown into the river, and was forced to disguise himself as a woman and was beaten. In the end, in the haunted legend of Windsor Forest, Falstaff was compl
1Reads8.0Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Hamlet
When Prince Hamlet of Denmark learns that his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius and usurped the throne, he falls into a dilemma between revenge and contemplation. He pretended to be crazy and acted like a fool, and confirmed the murderer through "play within a play", but his delay and hesitation led to an expansion of the tragedy, and he eventually died together with his enemy in the duel. Far more than a revenge story, this tragedy explores philosophical issues such as life and death, m
—Reads8.3Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Twelfth Night
Twin siblings Sebastian and Viola are separated in a shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a man and becomes Duke Orsino's attendant, but instead woos Countess Olivia on the Duke's behalf. Unexpectedly, Olivia falls in love with herself disguised as a man, while Viola secretly falls in love with the Duke. This complicated love triangle, accompanied by the vanity of Olivia's butler Malvolio and the pranks of Sir Toby, staged a feast of identity dislocation, gender confusion and joyful pursuit in
—Reads8.2Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Married in the End
This problematic comedy challenges ideas of class and gender. Helena, a commoner girl, cured the king with her medical skills and was given the right to choose her husband. She chose her favorite Count Bertrand. However, Bertrand refused to consummate the marriage due to status prejudice and set up difficulties to leave. Helena cleverly reached the conditions through "bed strategy" and finally won her husband's approval. Through the wisdom and initiative of women, the script explores how true no
—Reads8.1Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: the Comedy of Errors
Shakespeare's shortest comedy is based on the mistaken identity caused by the separation of two pairs of twin masters and servants. When the brothers Antipholus and their servant Dromio from Syracuse accidentally came to Ephesus, a series of misunderstandings caused by their extremely similar appearance broke out one after another: they identified the wrong person, paid the wrong money, closed the wrong door, courted the wrong love, and were even accused of madness. The whole play has a fast pac
—Reads8.1Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Tit for Tit
This problematic comedy explores the complex relationship between justice, tolerance and power. The Duke of Vienna temporarily left, leaving power to the strict governance of Angelou. Angelou enforced the law strictly and wanted to execute Claudio for committing adultery. Claudio's sister Isabella, a novice nun, pleads for mercy, but Angelo threatens her with chastity in exchange for it. In the end, the Duke turned into a monk and manipulated secretly, exposing Angelou's hypocrisy through the "b
—Reads7.7Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Troilus and Cressida
This dark and troubled drama simultaneously depicts the heroes and love of the Trojan War. The Trojan prince Troilus fell in love with the priest's daughter Cressida and exchanged vows. However, after Cressida was exchanged to a Greek military camp, she easily betrayed her love and fell into the arms of the Greek general Diomedes. At the same time, the arrogance and selfishness of Achilles in the Greek coalition and the hypocrisy and cowardice of the heroes on all sides shattered the halo of her
—Reads8.7Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Much Ado About Nothing
This bright and cheerful comedy centers on two couples: Hero and Claudio, whose love is shattered by malicious slander and eventually reconciled when the truth is revealed; and the sharp-tongued Beatrice and Benedick, who go from irreconcilable bickering to falling in love, a process full of wit and humor. In the play, "Much Ado About Nothing" refers not only to evil people fabricating troubles, but also to meaningless disputes between lovers. Through schemes, misunderstandings and disguises, th
—Reads8.3Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: the Merchant of Venice
This comedy interweaves a tense narrative of love, friendship and revenge. In order to help his friend Bassanio propose, Antonio, a Venetian merchant, borrows money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, and makes a terrifying mortgage of a pound of flesh if he defaults. Shylock was resentful of the long-term discrimination against Christians and insisted on collecting debts after Antonio went bankrupt. Bassanio's fiancée Portia disguises herself as a man in court and defeats Shylock with a witty "
—Reads7.8Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: King Lear
Before the aged King Lear abdicated, he divided the kingdom according to the words expressed by his daughters. The sincere younger daughter Cordelia was expelled for not flattering her, while the hypocritical eldest daughters cruelly abandoned their father after gaining power, causing Lear to go crazy in the storm and eventually died of grief. In the subplot, the Earl of Gloucester was tortured for the betrayal of his illegitimate son Edmund. This tragedy perfectly demonstrates family betrayal,
—Reads8.2Score—Shelves
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Shakespeare's Best: Timon of Athens
This tragedy depicts the desolation of the world and the extreme despair of human nature. The Athenian nobleman Timon was generous and hospitable, and his family wealth was lost in the flattery of the guests. When he asked for help, he was rejected by everyone, so he cynically lived in seclusion in the wilderness and cursed mankind. After discovering gold while digging roots, he distributed it to passers-by just to see the world become more corrupt, and eventually died in loneliness and grief. T
—Reads7.9Score—Shelves