Part I. Contexts: 1. The Shakespearean history play Michael Hattaway; 2. Shakespeare and the early modern history play A. J. Hoenselaars; 3. Pageants, masques, and history David M. Bergeron; 4. Elizabethan historiography and Shakespeare's sources Dominique Goy-Blanquet; 5. Women's roles in the Elizabethan history plays Phyllis Rackin; Part II. The Plays: 6. Plantagenets, Yorkists, Lancastrians, and Tudors: Edward III, 1-3 Henry VI, Richard III Janis Lull; 7. Historical legacy and fiction: the poetical reinvention of King Richard III Marie-Hélène Besnault and Michel Bitot; 8. King John: changing perspectives A. J. Piesse; 9. Richard II: Shakespeare and the languages of the stage Robyn Bolam; 10. Henry IV Parts one and two James C. Bulman; 11. King Henry V: 'The quick forge and working house of thought' Pamela Mason; 12. Shakespeare's ancient Rome: difference and identity Robert S. Miola; 13. Shakespeare's other historical plays R. A. Foakes; 14. Theatrical afterlives Stuart Hampton-Reeves; Part III. Reference Material: Recurrent characters; Family Trees: 1. The Early Plantagenets; 2. The House of Lancaster; 3. The House of York; Bibliography and further reading.

An accessible, wide-ranging and informed introduction to Shakespeare's history and Roman plays.