The Old Law, or A New Way to Please You is a seventeenth-century tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, and Philip Massinger. It was first published in 1656, but is generally thought to have been written about four decades earlier.  The first edition  The play first appeared in a badly-printed 1656 quarto issued by the bookseller Edward Archer (his shop was "at the sign of the Adam and Eve"), with the three dramatists' names on the title page. Scholars have little doubt about the general accuracy of the attribution; the doubt that does exist centers on the role of Massinger, since the play shows many typical signs of being a Middleton/Rowley collaboration. "Probably all critics are sure of the presence of Middleton and Rowley, but Massinger's contribution has been difficult to trace." David Lake, in his study of attribution problems in the Middleton canon, holds that Massinger's share consisted only of a light revision, and that signs of his hand are strongest in the first half of the single scene in Act V, the trial scene.

The Old Law (Garland English Texts)

Literature & Fiction

Middleton, Thomas

Rowley, William

Massinger, Philip

Shaw, Catherine M

Dramas & Plays

Taylor&Francis

Here is a marvelous collection of plays from the English Renaissance period, offering prime examples of the "domestic drama" genre that first appeared around 1590. These four pioneering works, set in near-contemporary England and concerned with issues of marriage and crime rather than war and power, focus on the lives of ordinary people, instead of kings and queens and politicians. Arden dramatizes a notorious murder case of forty years earlier, in which a wealthy husband was killed by his wife and her lover. In A Woman Killed with Kindness, a wife is caught by her husband in bed with his best friend. The Witch of Edmonton combines a true-life story of witchcraft with a fictitious tale of bigamy and wife-murder, and The English Traveller deals with the unexpected changes people find when they return home after a lengthy absence. Part of the Oxford English Drama series, this edition has modern-spelling, critical introductions, wide-ranging notes, a chronology of the plays, and appendices that address the question: who wrote Arden of Faversham and when did Thomas Heywood write The English Traveller. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

A Woman Killed with Kindness and Other Domestic Plays (Oxford World's Classics)

Dekker, Thomas

Heywood, Thomas

Ford, John.

Oxford University Press

Book by Middleton, Thomas H., Rowley, William

Changeling

Middleton, Thomas H.

W.W.Norton&Company

New Mermaids are modernized and fully-annotated editions of classic English plays. Each volume includes: The playtext, in modern spelling, edited to the highest bibliographical and textual standards Textual notes recording significant changes to the copytext and variant readings Glossing notes explaining obscure words and word-play Critical, contextual and staging notes Photographs of productions where applicable A full introduction which provides a critical account of the play, the staging conventions of the time and recent stage history; discusses authorship, date, sources and the text; and gives guidance for further reading. Edited and updated by leading scholars and printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, New Mermaids offer invaluable guidance for actor, student, and theatre-goer alike.

The Changeling (New Mermaids)

British & Irish

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

Thomas Middleton (1580-1627), a bricklayer's son, rose to become one of the most eminent playwrights of the Jacobean period. Along with Ben Johnson he helped shape the dynamic course of drama in Renaissance England. His range is broad, as his work successfully covers comedy, tragedy, and history. Praised during his life as well as today, Middleton remains relevant and influential. The Changeling (1630) was composed with the aid of Middleton's friend William Rowley, also an established playwright. The drama tells of the destructive powers of vice and lust. Beatrice-Joanna is a young woman betrothed to Alonzo de Piracquo, yet Beatrice-Joanna is truly in love with another-the nobleman Alsemero. Beatrice-Joanna uses manipulative and violent means to rid herself of her suitor Alsemero. The ensuing drama results in a catastrophic tragedy, leaving only a few to contemplate justice and passion. The characters, style, and action of The Changeling effortlessly come together, making it one of the greatest tragedies of its time.

Changeling (New Mermaids)

Arts & Photography

In the village of Edmonton, Elizabeth Sawyer is shunned by her neighbours. A poor and lonely old woman, she is harassed and accused of being a witch. In her abject misery, she wishes that she really were bewitched and so able to have her revenge. Unluckily for Elizabeth and the villagers of Edmonton, someone with the power to grant that wish is listening.First performed in 1621, The Witch of Edmonton was based by its authors Thomas Dekker, John Ford and William Rowley on a real-life case of a woman accused of witchcraft. The play was revived by the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of its 2014 Roaring Girls season, in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, directed by RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran and with Eileen Atkins as Elizabeth Sawyer.This edition of the play features the text edited for the RSC production, and introductions by key members of its creative team, including Doran.

The Witch of Edmonton

METHUEN

The Birth Of Merlin Or The Child Hath Found His Father (1662)

Shakespeare., William

Kessinger Publishing

The Changeling is a popular Renaissance tragedy in which the relationship between money, sex, and power is explored. Frequently performed and studied in University courses, it is a key text in the New Mermaids series.

Methuen Drama

It is a historical phenomenon that while thousands of women were being burnt as witches in early modern Europe, the English - although there were a few celebrated trials and executions, one of which the play dramatises - were not widely infected by the witch-craze. The stage seems to have provided an outlet for anxieties about witchcraft, as well as an opportunity for public analysis. The Witch of Edmonton (1621) manifests this fundamentally reasonable attitude, with Dekker insisting on justice for the poor and oppressed, Ford providing psychological character studies, and Rowley the clowning. The village community of Edmonton feels threatened by two misfits, Old Mother Sawyer, who has turned to the devil to aid her against her unfeeling neighbours, and Frank, who refuses to marry the woman of his father's choice and ends up murdering her. This edition shows how the play generates sympathy for both and how contemporaries would have responded to its presentation of village life and witchcraft.

The Witch of Edmonton (New Mermaids)

The Witch of Edmonton has received considerable attention recently both from scholars and critics interested in witchcraft practices and also from the directors in the theatre. The play, based on a sensational witchcraft trial of 1621, presents Mother Sawyer and her local community in the grip of a witch-mania reflecting popular belief and superstition of the time. This edition offers a thorough reconsideration of the text with a complete transcription of the original pamphlet by Henry Goodcole. This edition will be of particular interest not only to students of Renaissance Drama but also of the cultural history of the seventeenth century.. Open University adopted text (for their new Renaissance Drama module).

The Witch of Edmonton: by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford (Revels Student Editions)

Corbin, Peter

Sedge, Dekker

John Ford

Manchester University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rowley, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rowley, William

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rowley, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Old Law (Garland English Texts)

A Woman Killed with Kindness and Other Domestic Plays (Oxford World's Classics)

Changeling

The Changeling (New Mermaids)

Changeling (New Mermaids)

The Witch of Edmonton

The Birth Of Merlin Or The Child Hath Found His Father (1662)

The Changeling (New Mermaids)

The Witch of Edmonton (New Mermaids)

The Witch of Edmonton: by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford (Revels Student Editions)