Examining the possible childhood and adolescence of three of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters: three daughters who are subjected to the crazed autocracy of their volatile father and king. This fascinating short play acts as a prequel to King Lear, exploring the possible reasons for how and why Goneril and Regan became dysfunctional, selfish and malicious in the elder two’s case and what made Cordelia so psychologically damaged and vulnerable. This Shakespeare prequel offers some serious but also some satirical ideas about how their personalities became so warped.