The Tragedy of Tragedies
The Tragedy of Tragedies

Author: Henry Fielding

Publisher: Broadview Press

Published: 2013-02-15

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 1460402464

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Best known today for the novels Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones, Henry Fielding was just as renowned in his own time as a prolific and highly successful dramatist. Among his most popular plays was The Tragedy of Tragedies: Or, The Life and Death of Tom Thumb, one of the most extraordinary parodies in English theater. The print version of the play incorporates, in an elaborate structure of annotations, a remarkable satire of heroic drama and of the pretensions and excesses of “false scholarship.” This edition includes the text of the play itself and the text of the extraordinary notes (by Fielding’s pseudonym “H. Scriblerus Secundus”), appearing in facing page layout; extensive explanatory notes for the modern reader appear at the bottom of the page. Also included are a substantial introduction and a wide range of background materials that set the work in the context of its time. These contextual materials include contemporary reviews, excerpts from the plays that Fielding’s parody most frequently targeted, and selections from works that provided inspiration for The Tragedy of Tragedies—from contemporary versions of the “Tom Thumb” folktale to satirical writing by authors such as Alexander Pope, John Gay, and George Villiers.

British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan
British Dramatists from Dryden to Sheridan

Author: George Winchester Stone

Publisher: SIU Press

Published: 1975

Total Pages: 980

ISBN-13: 9780809307432

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Representative selections from Restoration and eighteenth-century drama, comedy, satire, tragedy, and farce are prefaced by descriptions of the theaters, acting styles, methods of play production, and audiences.

A Henry Fielding Companion
A Henry Fielding Companion

Author: Martin C. Battestin

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2000-06-30

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 0313033498

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Best remembered as the author of Joseph Andrews (1742), Tom Jones (1749) and Amelia (1751), Henry Fielding was one of the most important pioneering English novelists of the eighteenth century, and his works continue to occupy a central place in the literary canon. During the 1730s he was the most dominant playwright in London since John Dryden; and in his official capacity as a magistrate, he addressed serious social problems and invented the modern metropolitan police. This reference book makes essential information available to readers interested in Fielding, his life, and his works. The volume is organized in sections devoted to such topics as Fielding's residences; his family members and household; historical persons, including authors who influenced him; his works; themes and topics important to his writings; and characters in his plays and prose fiction. Each section contains numerous entries on particular items, and many entries provide brief bibliographical information. While the sectional organization of the volume invites the reader to explore broad areas of interest, a thorough index provides convenient alphabetical access to the entries. A brief introductory essay and chronology begin the volume, and the book concludes with an extensive bibliography.