King Richard II

This history play, printed in 1597 and later in the Folio, follows Richard II from the quarrel between Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray through Richard's seizure of John of Gaunt's estate and his campaign in Ireland. Bolingbroke returns from exile, gathers support, and forces Richard to yield the crown. The action is political and ceremonial: gardeners, favorites, and the queen comment on a king who treats the realm as personal property and then must learn what is left when the name of king is taken from him. The play is the opening movement of Shakespeare's second tetralogy, a deposition drama rather than a battle piece.

Bound in blue cloth blocked with a feather design in black and gold. White dust-jacket printed in blue and black. Second impression, no dust-jacket and issued in mottled grey slipcase.