Plays 1682–1696: Volume 4, The Plays 1682–1696

This edition includes fully annotated texts of all works known or plausibly believed to be by Aphra Behn (1640-1689).

Aphra Behn (Author), Rachel Adcock (Edited by), Kate Aughterson (Edited by), Claire Bowditch (Edited by), Elaine Hobby (Edited by), Alan James Hogarth (Edited by), Anita Pacheco (Edited by), Margarete Rubik (Edited by)

9781108840743, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 March 2021

954 pages, 11 b/w illus.
23.5 x 16 x 4.8 cm, 1.57 kg

'an impressive production that does full justice to Behn's now canonical status… this first glimpse into the Cambridge Edition offers a refreshing presentation of Behn's oeuvre, setting her texts in light of recent scholarly interests and in a wealth of contextual detail regarding Restoration English culture that has become increasingly available in recent years … the series promises to become not only the indispensable scholarly resource for all serious research on Behn, but also an indispensable collection for all serious research on Restoration culture.' The Review of English Studies

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) is renowned as the first professional woman of literature and drama in English. Her career in the Restoration theatre extended over two decades, encompassing remarkable generic range and diversity. Her last five plays, written and performed between 1682 and 1696, include city comedies (The City-Heiress, The Luckey Chance), a farce (The Emperor of the Moon), a tragicomedy (The Widdow Ranter), and a comedy of family inheritance (The Younger Brother). These plays exemplify Behn's skills in writing for individual performers, and exhibit the topical political engagement for which she is renowned. They witness to Behn's popularity with theatre audiences during the politically and financially difficult years of the 1680s and even after her death. Informed by the most up-to-date research in computational attribution, this fully annotated edition draws on recent scholarship to provide a comprehensive guide to Behn's work, and the literary, theatrical and political history of the Restoration.

Introduction
Editorial Conventions
1. The City-Heiress
2. The Luckey Chance
3. The Emperor of the Moon
4.The Widdow Ranter
5. The Younger Brother.

Subject Areas: Gender studies: women [JFSJ1], Literary reference works [DSR], Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK], Literary studies: plays & playwrights [DSG], Literary studies: poetry & poets [DSC], Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD], Theatre studies [AN]