Works (King Henry IV. Part 1 / King Henry IV. Part 2 / King Henry V / King Henry VI. Part 1 / King Henry VI. Part 2 / King Henry VI. Part 3 / King Henry VIII / King John / King Richard II / King Richard III / Lover's Complaint / Passionate Pilgrim / Phoenix and the Turtle / Rape of Lucrece / Sonnets / Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music / Venus and Adonis)

This collection represents a late-twentieth-century compilation of William Shakespeare’s historical plays and poetry, released by Smithmark Publishers. Although the publication date is listed as 1801, this ISBN corresponds to a mass-market, late-1990s omnibus edition intended to provide an accessible, singular volume for students and general readers. These types of editions were designed as affordable, durable library or home-reference resources, often featuring clear, readable typography to demystify the dense language of the Elizabethan era.

The editorial choice to group the history plays with the narrative poems and sonnets follows a long tradition of organizing Shakespeare’s canon by genre and royal succession. Smithmark Publishers, known for their budget-friendly illustrated anthologies, prioritized wide dissemination over academic apparatus, aiming to place the complete works into the hands of the public without the prohibitive costs associated with specialty scholarly editions. The design is utilitarian, focusing on standard text presentation to ensure the breadth of the content remains the primary focus.