About the Book:

Once upon a time Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare would be given to Victorian children to prepare them before they went to the theatre.

What wasn't known by the generations of readers who loved Lamb's Tales was that behind the beautiful and clear summaries of Shakespeare's best-known plays lay a complex family tragedy. Lamb's Tales had two authors, the brother and sister Charles and Mary Lamb but Mary's name was suppressed when the Tales were first published as she suffered periodic episodes of insanity and during one of these she had stabbed their mother to death. Mary's coauthorship was only acknowledged after her death.

Carlo Gébler's play explores the complicated relationship of Charles and Mary. Eleven years older than her brother, it was Mary who raised Charles. However, once a Coroner's Court ruled she had committed her offence while insane Charles became responsible for her. This duty of care lasted until he died and it affected his life in ways both good and bad. It hobbled his relationships but it also helped him to write his best work.

The volume also contains, in addition to the play Charles & Mary, two libretti - Adolf Gébler, Clarinettist and The Room in the Tower, both specially written for the Irish composer Roger Doyle.

About the Author:

Carlo Gébler was born in Dublin in 1954. As well as novels, memoirs and historical narratives, he has written several plays for both radio and the stage, including Dance of Death (1998), an adaptation of Strindberg's play cycle of the same name which was produced at the Tricycle Theatre, London, December Bride (2001), based on the Sam Hanna Bell novel of the same name and which was a Classic Serial broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10 Rounds (2002) which was shortlisted for the Ewart-Biggs Prize, and Henry & Harriet (2007, revived 2008) which was a site specific drama commissioned by Kabosh Theatre for the Belfast Cathedral Arts Festival.

Carlo Gébler is married with five children and lives near Enniskillen.