This is just awesome. The British Library has published online 21 plays by Shakespeare. The versions they published were printed in quarto before the theaters where they were originally performed were closed. Not only are the texts very different from what is considered the modern standard, but there are versions with wide differences separated by only a few years. The library set up a nice interface where you can compare two texts of the same play side-by-side. I could spend hours perusing this, I just find it so interesting reading old texts. It’s great that technology allows so many more people to see and study these books without damaging the originals.
It wasn’t uncommon for the emprisarios of the time to “rework” (ie: rewrite, retool, or just generally f**k with the original script) a play to fit the intended audience, or for the intended star of the production.
Hence the version of King Lear with a happy ending.