This title sets the historical context for the events portrayed in Shakespeare's major histories. It reviews the sources he used and analyses how he reshaped that material - often telescoping events and combining characters - to create his dramas. It also offers the insights of later historians about the lives and careers of Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and the monarchs King John, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard III and Henry VIII. Each chapter focuses on the period and lives portrayed in one of these dramas, and also provides a brief guide to available film and video versions.