The Dutch Courtesan by Karen Britland

The Dutch Courtesan by Karen Britland

The Dutch Courtesan is a riotous tragicomedy that explores the delights and perils afforded by Jacobean London. While Freevill, an educated young Englishman and the play's nominal hero, frolics in the city's streets, taverns and brothels, Franceschina, his cast-off mistress and the Dutch courtesan of the play's title,laments his betrayal and plots revenge. Juxtaposing Franceschina's vulnerable financial position against the unappealing marital prospects available to gentry women, the play undermines the language of romance, revealing it to be rooted in the commerce and commodification. Marston's commentary on financial insecurity and the hypocritical repudiation of foreignness makes The Dutch Courtesan truly a document for our time.

The play is well-chosen for the present moment, with its struggling immigrants, social predation, and vibrant street scenes, and Britland does an excellent job of clarifying the puns and jabs often lost on student readers, much of them in polyglot argot* Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *
Attentive to the literary influences behind Marston's play ... Particularly illuminating is Britland's attention to Marston's borrowings from Montaigne. * Times Literary Supplement *
This is by far the best edition of the play on the market, superbly treated by Karen Britland. * Professor Alison Shell, University College London, UK *

Karen Britland is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781472568960
ISBN 10	1472568966
Title	The Dutch Courtesan
Author	Karen Britland
Series	Arden Early Modern Drama
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2018-04-05
Number of pages	296
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.