This is a unique collection of plays from the early modern or English Renaissance period, bringing together four key examples of 'domestic' drama, inaugurated in about 1590 by The Tragedy of Master Arden of Faversham.
Each of the plays sheds fascinating light on contemporary English society in their handling of issues such as marriage, crime, and property, involving adultery, murder, witchcraft and the obligations of friendship.
All the texts are edited to modern standards from the earliest surviving copies, with explanatory notes and a glossary.
A critical introdution outlines the ways in which all four plays raise complex questions about the English society in which their tragic events unfold.
A chronology details the history of the plays and their genre from sources to recent stage history.
Two appendices supply new analysis of scholarly issues relating to two of the plays: who wrote Arden of Faversham and when did Heywood write The English Traveller.
