The Head That Wears a Crown

Written by William Shakespeare

Narrated by Alan Cumming

Internationally acclaimed actor and Tony Award-winner, Alan Cumming performs Shakespeare’s most important and beloved royal speeches, including “To be or not to be,” “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,” “Now is the winter of our discontent,” “O that this too sullied flesh would melt” and more. All the speeches were personally chosen by Cumming. Michael Boyd adds, “Cumming brings to Shakespeare the lyricism of a genuine singer, the sharp edge of a wicked comic, and the embodied intelligence of a major actor.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Apr 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780988836952

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

Reviews for The Head That Wears a Crown

[Heather Caudell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Alan Cumming does a magnificent job in this audio book. I have always had a difficult time understanding Shakespeare's works, however the way he performs these speeches allowed me to understand them in a way I never have before. I loved it!! (My favorite was chapter 13.)