{"product_id":"9780141392240","title":"The Duchess of Malfi, The White Devil, The Broken Heart and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore","description":"12775B - \u003cp\u003eThese four plays, written during the reigns of James I and Charles I, took revenge tragedy in dark and ambiguous new directions. In \u003ci\u003eThe Duchess of Malfi\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe White Devil\u003c\/i\u003e, John Webster explores the role of women and the problems of power, sex and corruption in the Italian court, creating two unforgettable anti-heroines. In \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Heart\u003c\/i\u003e, John Ford questions the value of emotional repression as his characters attempt to subdue their desires and hatreds in ancient Greece. Finally, Ford's masterpiece \u003ci\u003e'Tis Pity She's a Whore\u003c\/i\u003e explores the taboo theme of incest and forbidden lust in a daring reworking of \u003ci\u003eRomeo and Juliet\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJane Kingsley-Smith has edited the plays from the earliest quartos and added invaluable editorial material, including explanatory glosses and a new introduction that discusses how the playwrights explored issues around women, sex, power and violence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJOHN WEBSTER was born in about 1578 in London. He studied law at the Middle Temple before embarking on a career in the theatre, collaborating on many plays with contemporary dramatists. But it was his two solo-authored tragedies, \u003ci\u003eThe White Devil\u003c\/i\u003e (1612) and \u003ci\u003eThe Duchess of Malfi\u003c\/i\u003e (1614), which sealed his reputation. He died in the 1630s.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJOHN FORD was born in 1586 in Devon. His early career was wholly concerned with poetry and philosophical works, and it was not until the 1620s that he began collaborating on stage plays. In the late 1620s, he began writing alone, producing the eight plays on which his reputation would be based, including \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Heart \u003c\/i\u003e(1620) and \u003ci\u003e'Tis Pity She's a Whore\u003c\/i\u003e (c.1630). Nothing more is known of Ford after the performance of his last play in 1638.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJANE KINGSLEY-SMITH completed her PhD at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon and is the author of two monographs: \u003ci\u003eShakespeare's Drama of Exile\u003c\/i\u003e (2003) and \u003ci\u003eCupid in Early Modern Literature and Culture\u003c\/i\u003e (2010). She is a Reader at Roehampton University, London, and a regular guest speaker at Shakespeare's Globe.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47158395371760,"sku":"9780141392240","price":12.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780141392240_p0.jpg?v=1763655426","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780141392240","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}