First published 2019
Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, the man her father has chosen. She flees to the forest with her true love Lysander, pursued by Demetrius and Helena, who loves Demetrius desperately. In the same woods, the fairy king Oberon quarrels with his queen Titania over a changeling boy. Oberon commands his mischievous servant Puck to use a love potion on Titania, but Puck's magic goes awry when he tries to help the human lovers. Meanwhile, a group of amateur actors rehearses a play, unaware that Puck has given their leader Bottom the head of a donkey. As the enchanted Titania falls in love with the transformed Bottom, the four young Athenians find themselves in romantic chaos, with the wrong people falling for each other under Puck's spell. Barbara Catchpole transforms Shakespeare's beloved comedy into accessible modern prose while preserving the original plot and including memorable quotations from the play.
Genres: adaptations, literary-fiction, fantasy, fairy-tale-retellings
Vibes: atmospheric, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Athens, Forest
Period: Midsummer
60 pages · Paperback · Ransom Publishing