1st Edition

The Plays and Poems of Nicholas Rowe, Volume III The Late Plays

Edited By Stephen Bernard, Claudine van Hensbergen Copyright 2017

    Nicholas Rowe was the first Poet Laureate of the Georgian era. A fascinating and important yet largely overlooked figure in eighteenth-century literature, he is the ‘lost Augustan’. His plays are important both for the way they address the political and social concerns of the day and for reflecting a period in which the theatre was in crisis. This edition sets out to demonstrate Rowe’s mastery of the early eighteenth century theatre, especially his providing significant roles for women, and examines the political and historical stances of his plays. It also highlights his work as a translator, which was both innovative and deeply in tune with current practices as exemplified by John Dryden and Alexander Pope. This is the first scholarly edition of all Rowe’s plays and poems and is accompanied by 15 musical scores and 31 black and white illustrations.

    In this third volume the late plays, The Tragedy of Jane Shore and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey are presented, along with a newly written explanatory introduction by Claudine van Hensbergen which precedes the full edited text. Appendices covering performance history, the related music and textual apparatus are also included. A consolidated bibliography is included with the final volume for ease of reference.

    Introduction to The Tragedy of Jane Shore and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey by Claudine van Hensbergen

    Publication history and textual note to The Tragedy of Jane Shore and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey by Claudine van Hensbergen

    The Tragedy of Jane Shore edited by Claudine van Hensbergen

    The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey edited by Claudine van Hensbergen

    Appendix A: Curll’s additions to The Tragedy Jane Shore by Claudine van Hensbergen

    Appendix B: epilogues to The Tragedy Jane Shore by Claudine van Hensbergen

    Appendix C: the performance history of the late period plays by Claudine van Hensbergen

    Appendix D: music to the late plays by Joe Lockwood

    Textual apparatus of the late period plays by Claudine van Hensbergen

    Biography

    Stephen Bernard, Claudine van Hensbergen

    "[T]he quality of the editorial work is uniformly excellent. The edition also includes a range of appendices containing a wealth of supplementary material including performance listings, prologues and epilogues, and, notably, all extant vocal music for Rowe’s dramas. The scores, beautifully edited by Joe Lockwood, are a significant contribution to our understanding of Rowe’s plays as the importance of music in Restoration and early eighteenth-century drama is often overlooked."

    "…the very real contribution of this edition… illuminates Rowe’s literary career and, for the first time, establishes a scholarly text of his works."

    - Jean L. Marsden, Review of English Studies