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King Lear

A story retold from Shakespeare by E. Nesbit, first published 1907

This story is retold from King Lear, one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, first performed around 1606. E. Nesbit adapted it for young readers in 1907. The play explores themes of loyalty, judgement, honesty and the consequences of poor decisions. King Lear makes a terrible mistake when he values flattery over truth, and the story shows the suffering that follows—for himself and for those who truly loved him. Yet it also shows the power of forgiveness and faithful love. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised.

Band

Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11

Length

long · about 860 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures

Source

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, E. Nesbit and William Shakespeare

First published

1907

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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