The Duchess of Malfi

The engaging opening to this book gives readers an important historical context for the court scandals, anti-Catholic animosity, and Senecan drama that served as Webster's tragedy's backdrop. Karen Britland takes you through the most fascinating moments in this highly melodramatic play's long history of performances while also examining more current stagings, such as Dominic Dromgoole's rendition at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with Gemma Arterton. She enables you to participate in current social debates about privacy, torture, surveillance, and personal freedom by analyzing the work's great poetry and demonstrating how it may be used to engage in these discussions.