"Double Falsehood"

On December 1727 an intriguing play called Double Falshood; Or, The Distrest Lovers was presented for production by Lewis Theobald, who had it published in January 1728 after a successful run at the TheatreRoyal, Drury Lane, London. The title page to the published version claims that the play was 'Written Originally by W.SHAKESPEARE'. Double Falsehood's plot is a version of the story of Cardenio found in Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605) as translated by Thomas Shelton, published in 1612 though in circulation earlier. Documentary records testify to the existence of a play, certainly performed in 1613, by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, probably entitled The History of Cardenio and presumed to have been lost. The audience in 1727 would certainly have recognised stage situations and dramatic structures and patterns reminiscent of those in Shakespeare's canonical plays as well as many linguistic echoes. This intriguing complex textual and performance history is thoroughly explored and debated in this fully annotated edition, including the views of other major Shakespeare scholars. The illustrated introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the debates and opinions surrounding the play and the text is fully annotated with detailed commentary notes as in any Arden edition.

ISBN 190343677X   Pages 464 ISBN13 9781903436776 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 431 Publisher A & C Black Publishers Ltd   Published in London Imprint Arden Shakespeare   Series title Arden Shakespeare.Third Series Format Paperback   Height (mm) 198 Publication date 01 Mar 2010   Width (mm) 129 DEWEY 822.33   Spine width (mm) 21 DEWEY edition DC21   Academic level Tertiary education, Professional / Scholarly

"The publication of Theobald's adaptation in the Arden Shakespeare series is to be welcomed. And even more exciting is news that ...The Royal Shakespeare Company is working on a conjectural production of the original."--Jonathan Bate, "Daily Telegraph" "Hammond's analysis of the play seems to support Theobald's claims. Hammond says that in the work he finds the presence of three writers--Theobald, Shakespeare and John Fletcher...Hammond's claim is further bolstered when Arden Shakespeare, a highly regarded publisher of Shakespeare's works, publish[ed] an edition of the play edited by Hammond."--"Christian Science Monitor""" "Brean Hammond's lively introduction to his Arden edition of the play offers a thorough and judicious account of the relevant scholarship. His cautious conclusion is that Shakespeare had indeed collaborated with Fletcher on "Cardenio "and that vestiges of his handiwork remain in Double Falsehood....Hammond has made some notable discoveries...Brean Hammond's excellen

 Be the first to write a customer review