Richard III, Teil 5 der Shakespeare-Brasch-Edition, ist eines der frühesten historischen Stücke des großen Dramatikers und zugleich eines der blutigsten. Der hässliche und missgebildete Richard, Herzog von Gloster, kennt nur ein Ziel: er will die Krone Englands. Hinterhältig bringt er seine Brüder um, heiratet eine der Witwen, lässt seine kleinen Neffen und jeden anderen Konkurrenten ermorden.

Sindiwe Magona's novel Mother to Mother explores the South African legacy of apartheid through the lens of a woman who remembers a life marked by oppression and injustice. Magona decided to write this novel when she discovered that Fulbright Scholar Amy Biehl, who had been killed while working to organize the nation's first ever democratic elections in 1993, died just a few yards away from her own permanent residence in Guguletu, Capetown. She then learned that one of the boys held responsible for the killing was in fact her neighbor's son.  

Obsessed with the secret of creation, Swiss scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein cobbles together a body he's determined to bring to life. And one fateful night, he does. When the creature opens his eyes, the doctor is repulsed: his vision of perfection is, in fact, a hideous monster. Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation, but the monster won't be ignored, setting in motion a chain of violence and terror that shadows Victor to his death.

Narrator Dan Stevens ( Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

Shakespeare's plays - whether a comedy like A Midsummer Night's Dream, a history like Henry IV, or a tragedy like Hamlet - are treasure troves of insight into our very humanity. These 36 lectures introduce you to Shakespeare's major plays from each of these three genres and explain the achievement that makes him the leading playwright in Western civilization.