Dublin-born Thomas Southerne has long been admired by scholars as one of the most important dramatists of the Restoration, but the lack of a modern edition has prevented his plays from taking their deserved place alongside those of Congreve, Wycherly, and Etherege. This two-volume collection--based on an exhaustive study of the earliest editions--brings together his ten plays and the small surviving body of non-dramatic writing. Volume Two features two of Southerne's best known tragedies, The Fatal Marriage and Oroonoko, based on stories by Aphra Behn, and the variants between the censored and uncensored texts of his political tragedy The Spartan Dame. In addition, the introduction contains the first biography of Southerne based on a comprehensive study of the surviving documentary records, and the editors have incorporated generous notes to clarify the many contemporary allusions and to relate Southerne's work to its sources and models.

The two plots of this tragicomedy concern a black prince sold into slavery and two white women who are husband-hunting in Surinam. Through a discussion of the status of women in the period and of attitudes towards slavery, the editors demonstrated Southerne's complex attempt to explore a parallel between the conditions of slaves and women in contemporary society. They also consider the play in terms of Southerne's high Tory politics and in its own rights as effective drama. Based on a collection of seven editions published within Southerne's life-time, this modern edition includes a section on stage history, with an account of revisions and adaptations, and a detailed comparison between the play and its source in Aphra Behn's novella of the same name.

Title: The Fatal Marriage, or the Innocent Adultery; a play in five acts and in prose and verse], etc.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Southern, Thomas; 1694. 4 . 644.i.54.

Title: Oroonoko: a tragedy in five acts, prose and verse], etc.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Southern, Thomas; 1696. 4 . 643.k.1.(5.)

Title: Isabella: or, the Fatal Marriage; a play ... alter'd from Southern.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Garrick, David; Southern, Thomas; 1758. 8 . 163.i.38.