Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)

Gertrude and Claudius

A Novel

A Novel

A Novel

By John Updike

By John Updike

By John Updike

By John Updike

By John Updike
Read by John Lee

By John Updike
Read by John Lee

Best Seller
Paperback $16.00

Jul 03, 2001 | ISBN 9780449006979

Ebook $6.99

Jun 15, 2001 | ISBN 9780375411632

Audiobook Download $17.50

Dec 03, 2019 | 384 Minutes

All Formats
+
    Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike
    Audiobook Download
    Dec 03, 2019 | ISBN 9780593150108 | 384 Minutes

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (2) +
    Paperback
    +
    • Paperback $16.00

      Jul 03, 2001 | ISBN 9780449006979

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +
    • Ebook

      Jun 15, 2001 | ISBN 9780375411632

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Audio
    –

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About Gertrude and Claudius

    Gertrude and Claudius are the “villains” of Hamlet: he the killer of Hamlet’s father and usurper of the Danish throne; she his lusty consort, who marries Claudius before her late husband’s body is cold. But in this imaginative “prequel” to the play, John Updike makes a case for the royal couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude and Claudius are seen afresh against a background of fond intentions and family dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, erratic, disaffected prince. “I hoped to keep the texture light,” Updike said of this novel, “to move from the mists of Scandinavian legend into the daylight atmosphere of the Globe. I sought to narrate the romance that preceded the tragedy.”

    About Gertrude and Claudius

    Gertrude and Claudius are the “villains” of Hamlet: he the killer of Hamlet’s father and usurper of the Danish throne, she his lusty consort, who marries Claudius before her late husband’s body is cold. But in this imaginative “prequel” to the play, John Updike makes a case for the royal couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude and Claudius are seen afresh against a background of fond intentions and family dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, erratic, disaffected prince. “I hoped to keep the texture light,” Updike said of this novel, “to move from the mists of Scandinavian legend into the daylight atmosphere of the Globe. I sought to narrate the romance that preceded the tragedy.”

    About Gertrude and Claudius

    Gertrude and Claudius are the “villains” of Hamlet: he the killer of Hamlet’s father and usurper of the Danish throne; she his lusty consort, who marries Claudius before her late husband’s body is cold. But in this imaginative “prequel” to the play, John Updike makes a case for the royal couple that Shakespeare only hinted at. Gertrude and Claudius are seen afresh against a background of fond intentions and family dysfunction, on a stage darkened by the ominous shadow of a sullen, erratic, disaffected prince. “I hoped to keep the texture light,” Updike said of this novel, “to move from the mists of Scandinavian legend into the daylight atmosphere of the Globe. I sought to narrate the romance that preceded the tragedy.”

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Listen to a sample from Gertrude and Claudius

    Also by John Updike

    Selected Poems of John Updike
    Olinger Stories
    S.
    Buchanan Dying
    Hugging the Shore
    See all books by John Updike

    Also by John Updike

    Selected Poems of John Updike
    Olinger Stories
    S.
    Buchanan Dying
    Hugging the Shore
    See all books by John Updike

    Also by John Updike

    Selected Poems of John Updike
    Olinger Stories
    S.
    Buchanan Dying
    Hugging the Shore
    See all books by John Updike

    About John Updike

    JOHN UPDIKE is the author of more than sixty books, eight of them collections of poetry. His novels won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle, and the William Dean Howells Medal of the American… More about John Updike

    About John Updike

    JOHN UPDIKE is the author of more than sixty books, eight of them collections of poetry. His novels won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle, and the William Dean Howells Medal of the American… More about John Updike

    About John Updike

    JOHN UPDIKE is the author of more than sixty books, eight of them collections of poetry. His novels won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle, and the William Dean Howells Medal of the American… More about John Updike

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    Jul 03, 2001 | 224 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9780449006979

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction

    Ebook | $6.99
    Published by Random House
    Jun 15, 2001 | 224 Pages | ISBN 9780375411632

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $17.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Dec 03, 2019 | 384 Minutes | ISBN 9780593150108

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Praise

    “Shakespeare’s plays have had many offshoots. Gertrude and Claudius, though, stands in a class of its own: a superlative homage from one imaginative veteran to another.”—The Sunday Times (London)
     
    “[A] pearl of a book . . . a game for real stakes . . . Updike has used Shakespeare to write a free-standing, pleasurable, and wonderfully dexterous novel about three figures in complex interplay.”—The New York Times Book Review
     
    “A living, powerfully physical work . . . Updike is a superbly skillful writer.”—The Wall Street Journal

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates about John Updike
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking “SIGN UP”, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Raise kids who love to read

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

     An online magazine for today’s home cook

    An online magazine for today’s home cook