{"product_id":"volpone-and-the-alchemist-book-ben-jonson-9780486436302","title":"Volpone and the Alchemist","description":"Much-studied and frequently performed, these comedies by the great Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson satirize the greed, mendacity, gullibility, and pretension of seventeenth-century London society. Both plays abound in colorful characters, ingenious plotting, biting wit, and sharp insight into human nature. \u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eVolpone\u003c\/i\u003e (1605), a crafty rich man attempts to augment his wealth by feigning a mortal illness. His wealthy neighbors, spying the opportunity for an inheritance, vie with each other in courting the dying man's favor. \u003ci\u003eThe Alchemist\u003c\/i\u003e (1610) comprises a likewise avaricious cast, headed by a butler and prostitute who join forces with a swindler claiming to possess the philosopher's stone. The trio hosts a parade of eager victims whose hypocrisy and greed place them on a moral footing similar to that of the tricksters. Both plays offer sparkling examples of their author's novel approach to satire and his distinctive blend of savagery, humor, moralism, and a powerful sense of the absurd.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50098181112081,"sku":"CIN0486436306G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50224654516497,"sku":"CIN0486436306VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52631431381265,"sku":"GOR001912437","price":10.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":52845685080337,"sku":"CIN0486436306A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53130736369937,"sku":"GOR009007470","price":10.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0486436306.jpg?v=1751103733","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/de-ch\/products\/volpone-and-the-alchemist-buch-ben-jonson-9780486436302","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}