The Tragedy of Mariam (1613) is the first original play by a woman to be published in England, and its author is the first English woman writer to be memorialized in a biography, which is included with this edition of the play.
Mariam is a distinctive example of Renaissance drama that serves the desire of today's readers and scholars to know not merely how women were represented in the early modern period but also how they themselves perceived their own condition.
With this textually emended and fully annotated edition, the play will now be accessible to all readers. The accompanying biography of Cary further enriches our knowledge of both domestic and religious conflicts in the seventeenth century.
The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry with The Lady Falkland: Her Life, by One of Her Daughters
About the Book
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"This landmark edition . . . will be invaluable to scholars, teachers, and students."—Carol Thomas Neely, author of Broken Nuptials in Shakespeare's PlaysTable of Contents
PREFACE I
INTRODUCTION I
ELIZABETH CARY's LIFE AND woRKs
SUBTEXTS AND CONTENTS FOR MARIAM
Josephus and Jewish Materials
Biblical and Historical Herods
Mystery Play Herods
Continental and Classicizing Dramas about Herod and Mariam
English "Closet" Dramas
The "Social Text" of Henry VIII's Divorce
CARY's MARIAM
The Chorus and Conventional Wisdom
Structure and Characterization
MARIAM AND SHAKESPEARE
THE TEXTS OF MARIAM AND THE LIFE
The r6q Quarto of Mariam
The Manuscript of The Lady if Falkland: Her Life
EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION
PART ONE
THE TRAGEDY OF MARIAM
Historical Background to the Events in the Play
The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry, by Elizabeth Cary
Notes to the Play
PART TWO
THE LADY FALKLAND
Chronology of Elizabeth Cary's Life and Works
The Lady Falkland: Her Life, by One of Her Daughters
APPENDIX A
PASSAGES FROM LoDGE's TRANSLATION OF JosEPHUS (1602)
APPENDIX B
TEXTUAL COLLATION FOR MARIAM
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY