“There is no way but gentlenesse to redeeme a Hawke” Edmund Bert, 1619 Born and raised in the South Yorkshire mining village of Hoyland Common, Richard Hines remembers sliding down heaps of coal dust, listening out for the colliery siren at the end of shifts, and praying for his father's safe return. It seemed all too likely that he would follow in his father's footsteps and end up working in the pits, especially when to his mother's horror and his own he failed the 11+, so that unlike his older brother Barry, who had passed the exam to grammar school and who seemed to be heading for great things, Richard was left without hope of academic achievement. Crushed by this, and persecuted by the cruelty of his teachers, Richard spent his time in the fields and meadows just beyond the colliery slag heap. One morning, walking in the grounds of a ruined medieval manor, he came across a nest of kestrels. Instantly captivated, he sought out ancient falconry texts from the local library, and pored over the strange and beautiful language there. With just these books, some ingenuity, and his profound respect for the hawk's indomitable wildness, Richard learned to “man”, or train, his kestrel, Kes, and in the process grow into the man he would become. Richard and his experiences with kestrels inspired Barry's classic novel A Kestrel for a Knave. When production began on what would become Ken Loach's iconic film Kes, Richard found himself training the kestrels that would soar on screen and into cinematic history. No Way But Gentlenesse is a superb, moving memoir of one remarkable boy's love for a forgotten culture, and his attempt to find salvation in the natural world.

Shakespeare's First Folio is a seminal collection of William Shakespeare's plays, first published in 1623. This volume is a landmark in literary history, preserving for posterity the works of one of the greatest playwrights in the English language. Compiled by Shakespeare's friends and colleagues, John Heminges and Henry Condell, the First Folio includes 36 plays, many of which had not been published before. The First Folio features the complete texts of some of Shakespeare’s most famous works, including Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear, among others. It is notable for including plays that were previously unknown or had only existed in incomplete form, such as The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and The Winter's Tale. The significance of the First Folio lies not only in its preservation of Shakespeare’s complete works but also in its role in establishing his reputation as a playwright. The volume's editorial decisions, textual accuracy, and historical importance make it a critical resource for scholars and enthusiasts of Shakespearean drama. Shakespeare's First Folio is essential for anyone interested in the Bard’s oeuvre and provides a fascinating glimpse into early modern English theater and publishing.

"This new stage adaptation of Barry Hines' well-known film and novel once again proves its gritty charm and popular staying power..." --Back cover.

Twelfth Night is a comedy in five acts written by William Shakespeare. This play was written about 1600–02 and printed in 1623. Regarded by many as one of Shakespeare’s finest comedies, Twelfth Night appeared before the playwright went on to pen several tragedies and serious plays. Play begins with the scene in which Sebastian and Viola, the twins, are separated during a shipwreck. Each one believes the other dead. Viola disguises herself as a boy named Cesario and enters the service of Duke Orsino, who thinks he is in love with the lady Olivia. Orsino sends Viola-Cesario to plead his cause to Olivia, who promptly falls in love with the messenger. Viola, meanwhile, is in love with Orsino, and, when her twin, Sebastian, is rediscovered, many comic situations of mistaken identity ensue. Twelfth Night deals with some serious themes and various forms of love, romantic, family and even the love of love are all presented. At the same time, there is the question of appearance and reality which is shown through the actions of Olivia’s steward Malvolio.

(Applause Books). If there ever has been a groundbreaking edition that likewise returns the reader to the original Shakespeare text, it will be the Applause Folio Texts. If there has ever been an accessible version of the Folio, it is this edition, set for the first time in modern fonts. The Folio is the source of all other editions. The Folio text forces us to re-examine the assumptions and prejudices which have encumbered over four hundred years of scholarship and performance. Notes refer the reader to subsequent editorial interventions, and offer the reader a multiplicity of interpretations. Notes also advise the reader on variations between Folios and Quartos. The heavy mascara of four centuries of Shakespearean glossing has by now glossed over the original countenance of Shakespeare's work. Never has there been a Folio available in modern reading fonts. While other complete Folio editions continue to trade simply on the facsimile appearance of the Elizabethan "look," none of them is easily and practically utilized in general Shakespeare studies or performances.

Ken Loach's 1969 drama Kes, considered one of the finest examples of British social realism, tells the story of Billy, a working class boy who finds escape and meaning when he takes a fledgling kestrel from its nest. David Forrest's study of the film examines the genesis of the original novel, Barry Hines' A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), the eventual collaboration that brought it to the screen, and the film's funding and production processes. He provides an in depth analysis of key scenes and draws on archival sources to shed new light on the film's most celebrated moments. He goes on to consider the film's lasting legacy, having influenced films like Ratcatcher (1999) and This is England (2006), both in terms of its contribution to film history and as a document of political and cultural value. He makes a case for the film's renewed relevance in our present era of systemic economic (and regional) inequality, alienated labour, increasingly narrow educational systems, toxic masculinity, and ecological crisis. Kes endures, he argues, because it points towards the possibility for emancipation and fulfilment through a more responsive and nurturing approach to education, a more delicate and symbiotic relationship with landscape and the non-human, and an emotional articulacy and sensitivity shorn of the rigid expectations of gender.