Stories of Shakespeare's English History Plays

Excerpt from Stories of Shakespeare's English History Plays Act. I. The first act opens in the days of Caesar Augustus, in the royal garden in Britain, where two Romans are declaring their country is no longer in good odour. Besides, trouble is brewing at court, for King Cymbeline's daughter has secretly married Posthumus, - a poor but worthy gentleman, - instead of Cloten, son of the Queen by a former marriage. But, although the royal couple are angry, the courtiers rejoice that Imogen has not selected the man they despise, for her brothers having been stolen from the nursery twenty years before, she is now heir to the throne. The arrival of the Queen, with her step-daughter and Posthumus, drives these men away. Then the Queen is overheard stating that although appointed jailor to Imogen, she will allow the couple a parting interview, and will strive to appease the King's wrath. While she strolls away, the young people exchange tender farewells, Posthumus promising to remain true to his wife, whose letters he will eagerly await in Rome. Just then the Queen reappears, urging the married lovers to part; but, although she pretends to favour them, she is secretly their foe, for she hurries off to decoy Cymbeline hither. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.