The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher in Ten Volumes: Volume 01.

Before there was Dryden, before there was Congreve, there was Beaumont and Fletcher. This volume gathers the works that made them the most celebrated playwrights of their era: 'The Maid's Tragedy,' a visceral exploration of royal corruption and destroyed honor; 'Philaster,' the tragicomedy that defined a genre; and 'The Scornful Lady,' a sharp comedy of manners. These plays ran London's theatres for decades, outpacing Shakespeare in performance numbers during the reign of James I. Theirs was a theatre of extremes: passionate loves, brutal betrayals, gender-bending disguises, and moral ambiguity rendered with startling modernity. The 1647 collection, reproduced here, represents the first attempt to preserve their legacy. This edition includes commendatory verses from peers who witnessed their genius firsthand. For readers seeking the raw energy of early modern drama, untamed by centuries of gentrification, this is where to find it.