Tales from Shakespeare is designed to make the stories of Shakespeare's plays familiar to the young. It was written by an English writer Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb in 1807. Charles wrote the tragedies, while Mary wrote the comedies.

As noted in the authors' preface, "Shakespeare's words are used whenever it seemed possible to bring them in … diligent care has been taken to select such words as might least interrupt the effect of the beautiful English tongue in which he wrote."