Although the language is old fashioned, the storylines are made up of the same romance, intrigue and betrayal you’d find on a modern soap opera or in tabloid news.
Novels borrow from Shakespeare too - check out one of these thoroughly modern books which owe a debt to the bard:
Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray: If Romeo and Juliet was set in 20th Century Boston and the star-crossed lovers were rival florists, this is what it would look like. Witty and romantic.
Dead Father’s Club by Matt Haig.
Hilariously Hamlet: encouraged by his father’s ghost, 11 year old Philip Nobel must avenge his dad’s murder at the hands of his evil uncle who has stepped in to take over the family pub.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - by David Wroblewski. Latest pick of Oprah’s Book Club and a book that has been heralded as a new American classic. This is Hamlet, but set in rural Wisconsin with dogs.
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley: Pulizter Prize winning novel of contemporary American Life. A father leaves his farm to his three daughters, but one is not interested: there’s more than a passing resemblance to King Lear.
Two Guys from Verona by James Kaplan: on the verge of their 25th high school reunion, Verona, New Jersey residents Will and Joel struggle through the complicated world of love and friendship in a thoroughly modern twist on the comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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