Elizabethan Drama II: The Five Foot Shelf of Classics Vol. XLVII (in 51 Volumes): 67

Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name Harvard Classics this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature philosophy history and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926) Harvard Universitys longest-serving president. Also known as Dr. Eliots Five Foot Shelf it represented Eliots belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XLVII features a selection of Elizabethan drama spanning the breadth of that newly mature domain: - The Shoemakers Holiday a 1599 comedy of manners and romance by THOMAS DEKKER (1572-1632) - The Alchemist the 1610 play considered the best comedy by BEN JONSON (1572-1637) - Philaster by FRANCIS BEAUMONT (1584-1616) and JOHN FLETCHER (1579-1625) a tragicomedy dating from around 1610 - The Duchess of Malfi by JOHN WEBSTER (c. 1580-c. 1634) a violent tragic horror tale - A New Way to Pay Old Debts the 1625 satire by PHILIP MASSINGER (1583-1640) which invented a villain-Sir Giles Overreach-who endured to become a 19th-century icon