<DIV><DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I>The Merchant of Venice</I>, by <B>William Shakespeare</B>, is part of the <I>Barnes & Noble Shakespeare</I> series.  This unique series features newly edited texts prepared by leading scholars from America and Great Britain, in collaboration with one of the world's foremost Shakespeare authorities, <B>David Scott Kastan</B> of Columbia University. Together they have produced texts as faithful as possible to those that Shakespeare wrote.</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Each volume in the <I>Barnes & Noble Shakespeare</I> includes:</P><UL><LI><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Featuring one of Shakespeare's most complex and memorable villains, <I>The Merchant of Venice</I> presents the struggle to find mercy in a world marked by rivalry, cruelty, and prejudice. The editor, <B>Julie Crawford</B>, restores the play to its historical context, enabling us to better understand how Shakespeare's original audience would have viewed Shylock.</p></DIV></DIV>