This anthology of four plays written or performed between 1662 and 1677 offers a unique snapshot of the diverse nature of Restoration drama by women.
Restoration Women’s Drama collects four Restoration plays by women: the highly acclaimed Katherine Philips, the successful professional Aphra Behn, the confidently original Margaret Cavendish, and the obscure pioneer Frances Boothby. This anthology includes Behn’s only tragedy as well as the first printed edition of Boothby’s Marcelia, the first play by a woman to be professionally staged in London, demonstrating the range of early modern drama produced by women in this period. An excellent introduction, it is poised to stimulate new discussions of women’s authorship, theatrical knowledge, and literary affinities. Each play has been edited afresh, and each has been modernized and annotated to facilitate reading, teaching, and performance possibilities.
Restoration Women’s Drama collects four Restoration plays by women: the highly acclaimed Katherine Philips, the successful professional Aphra Behn, the confidently original Margaret Cavendish, and the obscure pioneer Frances Boothby. This anthology includes Behn’s only tragedy as well as the first printed edition of Boothby’s Marcelia, the first play by a woman to be professionally staged in London, demonstrating the range of early modern drama produced by women in this period. An excellent introduction, it is poised to stimulate new discussions of women’s authorship, theatrical knowledge, and literary affinities. Each play has been edited afresh, and each has been modernized and annotated to facilitate reading, teaching, and performance possibilities.
408 pages | 1 color plates | 6 x 9 | © 2025
The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series
History: British and Irish History
Literature and Literary Criticism: Dramatic Works
Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Restoration Women’s Drama, 1662–1677, by Paul Salzman
Margaret Cavendish, Unnatural Tragedy (1662), edited by Lara Dodds
Introduction
Text
Katherine Philips, Pompey (1663), edited by Mihoko Suzuki
Introduction
Text
Appendix 1: “To the Right Honorable the Countess of Cork”
Appendix 2: “To my Lady Elizabeth Boyle, Singing—‘Since Affairs
of the State &c.’ ”
“To the Countess of Roscommon, with a Copy of
Pompey”
Appendix 3: “The Earl of Orrery to Mrs. Philips”
Abraham Cowley, “Upon Mrs. K. Philips her Poems”
Philo-Philippa, “To the Excellent Orinda”
Thomas Flatman, “To the Memory of the incomparable
Orinda: A Pindarick Ode”
Frances Boothby, Marcelia (1669), edited by Paul Salzman
Introduction
Text
Aphra Behn, Abdelazar (1677), edited by Joyce Macdonald
Introduction
Text
Bibliography
Index
Introduction: Restoration Women’s Drama, 1662–1677, by Paul Salzman
Margaret Cavendish, Unnatural Tragedy (1662), edited by Lara Dodds
Introduction
Text
Katherine Philips, Pompey (1663), edited by Mihoko Suzuki
Introduction
Text
Appendix 1: “To the Right Honorable the Countess of Cork”
Appendix 2: “To my Lady Elizabeth Boyle, Singing—‘Since Affairs
of the State &c.’ ”
“To the Countess of Roscommon, with a Copy of
Pompey”
Appendix 3: “The Earl of Orrery to Mrs. Philips”
Abraham Cowley, “Upon Mrs. K. Philips her Poems”
Philo-Philippa, “To the Excellent Orinda”
Thomas Flatman, “To the Memory of the incomparable
Orinda: A Pindarick Ode”
Frances Boothby, Marcelia (1669), edited by Paul Salzman
Introduction
Text
Aphra Behn, Abdelazar (1677), edited by Joyce Macdonald
Introduction
Text
Bibliography
Index