Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is a 1907 collection published by E. Nesbit with the intention of entertaining young readers and telling William Shakespeare’s plays in a way they could be easily understood. Over 400 years ago, William Shakespeare wrote many memorable and beautiful plays and sonnets. These works have inspired generations of readers and writers, and continue to be read and performed even today. They have been recreated quite often but rarely for children. Keeping this in mind, in 1907, beloved children’s author E. Nesbit, rewrote twenty of Shakespeare’s most popular plays in simple, lively prose—from the comedies like Much Ado About Nothing.