Thomas Otway: The Best Plays of the Old Dramatists

Thomas Otway burned bright and fast. In just thirty-three years of life, this Restoration playwright produced some of the era's most devastating tragedies, plays that tore audiences apart with their depictions of passion, betrayal, and political conspiracy. This collection gathers his masterworks: Venice Preserv'd, The Orphan, Don Carlos, and The Soldier's Fortune. Each one is a machine for generating tears and gasps. The title tragedy, Venice Preserv'd, depicts a conspiracy that collapses into betrayal, its final act as crushing as anything in the English dramatic tradition. The Orphan explores jealousy and moral compromise with a psychological precision that anticipates modern drama. Otway's own life reads like one of his plays: failed actor, star-crossed lover of actress Mrs. Barry, dead in poverty at twenty-four. Yet from this short, disastrous career emerged tragedies that defined the genre for a century. This volume captures Restoration theatre at its most raw and emotional, before the wit and satire gave way to something darker and more profound.