Othello & Henry the Eighth

Othello The Novel. Othello is Shakespeare's psychological thriller, complete with a beautiful, unsuspecting young victim and an unrepentant, middle-aged villain driven mad by jealousy. Before the violent actions of Othello, which make us grip our seats while our hearts skip a beat or two, we cringe at the machinations of the demoniacal Iago. First Iago plants the seeds of suspicion in the noble mind of Othello, then he exults as that jealousy takes over Othello's whole being. Nor is Othello Iago's only victim, for at the end of the play there are four dead and two wounded survivors of his evil.

Henry the Eighth The Novel. Henry VIII has been alternately titled "All Is True" for a purpose: It is a history revealed verse by verse, page by page and chapter by terrible chapter, full of grave and serious happenings. It is a sometimes chilling tale of a ruthless King and two of his Queens, of the fall of the high and mighty, including the steel divorce of the head of a great but haughty Duke from his shoulders, and the sudden tumble down and utter ruin of a venal and arrogant Cardinal.