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Books > Language & Literature > Literature: texts > Drama texts, plays
George Lillo's domestic tragedies provided the impetus for the
development of new forms of serious drama during and after the
eighteenth century, on the Continent as well as in the
English-speaking theatre. This edition makes available for the
first time all of the plays known or thought to have been written
by the playwright, in reliable old-spelling texts following modern
bibliographical principles. Some have not been reprinted since
1810. Even the much-studied London Merchant has not previously been
published in an edition that recognizes the errors contained in the
first edition and the authorial revisions introduced in early
reprints. The introduction to each play treats its sources,
histories of publication and reception in the theatre, and textual
problems. The apparatus criticus and historical collations provide
full bibliographical detail. Commentary notes discuss the author's
use or adaptation of sources and furnish information about links
among his own plays, topical background, and literary allusions.
Steffensen edition makes possible an informed awareness of Lillo's
lesser-known plays in a variety of genres, as an enlightening
context for further study of these influential domestic dramas.
From an early age I discovered a talent for rhyme that amused me
and it wasna t until I was in my teens that I realised that I could
write rhyming pieces at will. This manifested itself in a series of
plays I did for the NatWest Bank, one of which, a A Queen for all
Seasons.a was broadcast on the BBC in 1979. Fun and frolics were
the main ingredient but a double entendrea was the cutting edge to
the plays. Others followed in quick succession. Here are a few that
have survived.
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