Overview

Advertised in its Prologue as a prequel to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, Fletcher and Massinger's The False One is the first literary work completely to revolve around the affair between Caesar and Cleopatra. In its deployment of their liaison as a venue for the exploration and criticism of contemporary political manoeuvring and its high-spirited and pungent appropriation of Roman history, the play proves to be one of the most compelling Jacobean dramatisations of the classical past. This Revels Plays edition offers the first fully annotated, single-volume critical edition of The False One, with a thorough introduction that provides new insights on the date and the theatre of the play's first performance, examines the playwrights' reworking of their sources and explores the theatrical potential of a play that has hitherto regrettably been lost to the dramatic repertory.

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9781526151636

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Reviews

'…a major contribution to the editorial history of this drama… an impressive feat of scholarship: a comprehensive edition worthy of an excellent, scholarly series. Lovascio’s edition is not only a significant milestone in the editorial history of the play; it reveals The False One as a drama that bristles with humour and spectacle worthy of performance, and offers wonderful insights into collaborative practises during the period and the presentation of Rome on the Jacobean stage.’ Early Modern Literary Studies -- .

''This Revels edition points us to the value of reviving The False One as a staged play, quite possibly in the company of one of Shakespeare’s Roman plays or paired with Massinger’s mesmerizing tour de force, The Roman Actor. Lovascio’s twin publications of 2022 fill in a lacuna in our awareness of early modern drama centering on the Roman empire. In that sense, Lovascio has demonstrated his own willingness to emulate Curtius, by leaping into the gulf to preserve this vital but long-neglected Roman play.' Renaissance Quarterly '…a major contribution to the editorial history of this drama… an impressive feat of scholarship: a comprehensive edition worthy of an excellent, scholarly series. Lovascio’s edition is not only a significant milestone in the editorial history of the play; it reveals The False One as a drama that bristles with humour and spectacle worthy of performance, and offers wonderful insights into collaborative practises during the period and the presentation of Rome on the Jacobean stage.’ Early Modern Literary Studies -- .

Author Information

Domenico Lovascio teaches English Literature at the University of Genoa in Italy

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