The Rape of Lucrece

Written by William Shakespeare

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time.

‘But no perfection is so absolute
That some inpurity doth not pollute.’

The Rape of Lucrece follows a popular story from one of Shakespeare's favourite ancient writers, Ovid. Lucrece is the angelic wife of Collatine, an illustrious Roman general. She is coveted and eventually attacked by Prince Tarquin, Collatine's best friend.

All of the Shakespeare plays within the ARGO Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts, and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations.

Thurston Dart, Professor of Music at London University and a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production.

The full cast includes: Readers: Tony Church; George Rylands; Peggy Ashcroft; Denis McCarthy; Peter Holmes; Peter Orrl Janette Richer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Nov 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008443139

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the world's greatest ever playwright. Born in 1564, he split his time between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, where he worked as a playwright, poet and actor. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two, leaving three children—Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. The rest is silence.

Reviews for The Rape of Lucrece

[audacity88_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like Lolita or Paradise Lost, a story in which we see ourselves in the villain. "Why hunt I then for colour or excuses? / All orators are dumb when beauty pleadeth", says he, rightly. Reminds us of how terrible love and lust can be. And of course the prosody is exquisite.