Henry IV: Part II

This history play continues the struggle for Henry IV's crown after Shrewsbury. In the north, the Archbishop of York and the remnants of the rebel party bargain and are broken by Prince John. At court the sick king distrusts his heir, Prince Hal, while Hal moves between the palace and Eastcheap, where Falstaff recruits, drinks, and schemes with Mistress Quickly, Doll Tearsheet, and Justice Shallow in Gloucestershire. The action turns on the transfer of power: how a dying usurper yields the crown, and how the new king will treat the companions of his youth. The play pairs political settlement with a comic world about to be shut out.

Series binding. Mottled grey slipcase.