Author:William Shakespeare,Paul Edmondson

'Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm off from an anointed king'
Richard, a vain, despotic ruler, listens only to his flatterers. When his cousin Bolingbroke, previously banished, returns to seize the crown, Richard discovers that the throne given to him by God can be taken from him by men. Depicting a tortured and morally ambivalent soul wearing the 'hollow crown', whose illusions are brutally shattered, this tragic history play unravels the idea of kingship. It is also a work of epic lyricism, filled with some of Shakespeare's most intoxicating poetry.
Used and Recommended by the National Theatre
General Editor Stanley Wells
Edited by Stanley Wells
Introduction by Paul Edmondson
Passionately felt and courageous
—— SpectatorA pioneering lesbian novel
—— Daily TelegraphBeautifully written and constructed, with delightful prose. It is the standard-bearer; the lesbian The Grapes of Wrath
—— Lee LynchThrilling... combines the social engagement of David Peace with Robert Macfarlane's talent for describing the countryside in crisp, fresh language. From ghosts of the Civil War to the meaning of the miners’ strike, this is a beguiling tale about a rural England where questions of power and identity are as pertinent now as they ever were.
—— Max Liu , IndependentCohu skilfully builds a narrative that reveals the reverberations of the Victorian past - and an enduring mystery - upon the present. He subtly details his characters' feelings, and though the consequences are tragic, they prove fertile material for fine fiction.
—— Anita Sethi , Mail on SundayCohu is a writer with a profound understanding of human frailty, and one of the most appealing things about Nothing But Grass is the dignity it grants its characters... There is real compassion in the way the book traces the effects of time on people’s hopes and dreams. These are, for the most part, ordinary working folk, the kind whose lives are rarely taken seriously by literature or in our cultural conversation; Cohu’s book is a powerful and necessary antidote to the tired elitism of so many metropolitan literary novels... Cohu’s insightful, moving depictions of both people and place illuminate what is an accomplished and memorable rural novel
—— Melissa Harrison , GuardianBeautifully written and original
—— AS Byatt , ObserverLovely and unusual
—— Joanna Kavenna , OldieCohu’s strong characterisation and sure-footed feel for his territory endow Nothing but Grass with the sense of social, psychological and geographical strata being excavated.
—— Alastair Mabbot , HeraldI just loved it. Lethally funny and so clever.
—— Jilly CooperI ADORED it. It's the most fun I've had with a book in a long time, and I love how she writes - so many dazzling sentences and phrases.
—— Marian KeyesSparkling savage and remarkably sexy.
—— Daisy GoodwinA wickedly funny, biting satire of Notting Hill's basement-digging class. My absolute guiltiest read this summer.
—— Plum SykesThe Jane Austen of W11
—— Scotsman on Winter GamesAn addictively funny read about the lives of the rich and richer. Four stars
—— Heat on Notting HellSmart, pacy, and hysterically funny
—— Deirdre O’Brien , Sunday MirrorThis provocative debut explores whether monogamy is all it’s cracked up to be
—— GlamourWitty, sparkling and a dissection of monogamy and happiness... Entertaining
—— LadyHere is a heroine who scores a solid ten on the sass-o-meter, and she made the whole reading experience a hoot… Guilt-free fun with this deliciously rampant romp.
—— Sarah Hughes , Heat






