1
of
1
The Duchess of Malfi
Series: New Mermaids
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 18,437 ratings, 723 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Duchess of Malfi
$1999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
New Hero Alert! Meet Theresa – our new Warehouse Sidekick
We’re thrilled to welcome Theresa to the Book Hero team! Whenever we bring a new...
Our Rolife Range Is Getting Even Bigger!
Our Rolife range is getting even bigger! We’ve got a huge new shipment on the...
How to Make 1000 Piece Puzzles Easier
1000 piece puzzles can seem a little intimidating, but a few simple tricks can make...
Pick up a Microhistory (and become a very niche expert)
If you've seen people talking about a book about Salt and wondered what was happening...
Lizzy's August Reading
Book Hero team member Lizzy is rounding up her reads for August! Check out what...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
This new edition of Webster’s macabre masterpiece, The Duchess of Malfi, is accompanied by insightful commentary notes and a detailed introductory analysis of the play written by Karen Britland, making this the perfect edition for students.
As well as the complete text of the play, this revised New Mermaid edition includes:
- A detailed plot summary and annotations throughout the text
- An annotated bibliography and suggestions for further reading
- A comprehensive introduction exploring the historical and literary contexts
- An analysis of the play in performance, including recent productions inspired by the #MeToo movement, as well as contemporary adaptations such as Allan Palileo's Ang Dukesa ng Malfi (set in the Philippines) and Debo Oluwatuminu's Iyalode of Eti (set in pre-colonial Yorubaland)
Webster’s heroine stands out as one of the most compelling female characters on the early modern stage. Along with its exploration of familial bonds, this ensures the play is as relevant today as when it was written.
Series: New Mermaids
View all-
The Duchess of Malfi
This new edition of Webster’s macabre masterpiece, The Duchess of Malfi, is accompanied by insightful commentary notes and a detailed introductory analysis of the play written by Karen Britland, making this the perfect edition for students. As well as the complete text of the play, this revised New Mermaid edition includes: A detailed plot summary and annotations throughout the text...Paperback$1999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Mrs Warren's Profession
'Shaw's refusal to moralise about the sex trade, only about the system that supports it, provides the play with its dramatic tension and surprising modernity.' GuardianShaw's 1893 play centres on the mother and daughter relationship between Kitty Warren and her Cambridge-educated daughter, Vivie, who is currently enjoying a comfortable and financially untroubled life. Kitty's own upbringing was far from easy,...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Volpone
The sharpest, funniest comedy about money and morals in the 17th century is still the sharpest and funniest about those things in the 21st. The full play text is accompanied by incisive commentary notes which communicate the devastating comic energy of Volpone’s satire. The introduction provides a firm grounding in the play’s social and literary contexts, demonstrates how careful close-reading...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
A Chaste Maid in Cheapside
Written for the adult players at the open-air Swan theatre in 1613, this masterpiece of Jacobean city comedy signals its ironic nature even in the title: chaste maids, like most other goods and people in London's busiest commercial area, are likely to be fake. Money is more important than either happiness or honour; and the most coveted commodities to be...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Arden of Faversham
This lamentable and true tragedy, as it is announced on its title page, dramatises a domestic murder of the sort that nowadays scandalises and thrills the readers of tabloid newspapers. Although the title advertises the great malice and dissimulation of a wicked woman and her unsatiable desire of filthie lust, the unknown playwright with great dramatic skill and psychological insight...Paperback$2899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Alchemist
The Alchemist is set during a plague epidemic in the Liberty of Blackfriars in 1610 and was first performed on tour in 1610 by the company whose London home at Blackfriars was temporarily closed due to a plague epidemic. The play is a sublimely accomplished satirical farce about people's diverse dreams of self-refinement: they all want to transform themselves into...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Four Revenge Tragedies
Francis Bacon described revenge as a ‘kind of wild justice’. Then as now, early modern playwrights and their theatre-going public were fascinated by the anarchic energies that a desire for retribution unleashes. Rather than rehearsing familiar conventions, each of these plays presents a unique social and cultural milieu where dark fantasies of revenge are variously played out. In Kyd’s The...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
She Stoops to Conquer
The action of She Stoops to Conquer (1773) is largely confined to a night and a day in Squire Hardcastle's somewhat dilapidated country house. Young Marlow, on his way there to meet the bride his father has chosen for him, loses his way and arrives at the house assuming it is an inn. The prospect of meeting the genteel Miss...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the most enduringly popular British comic dramas and a mainstay of English literature and drama courses at college and university level. This is an ideal edition for students, featuring on-page notes to help clarify meaning and a completely new introduction. In the new introduction, Francesca Coppa explores recent critical approaches to the...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Man of Mode
Arguably the most perfectly poised of Restoration wit comedies, The Man of Mode is a finished exercise in dramatic sprezzatura, or nonchalance, matching the beguiling ‘easiness’ and ‘complaisance’ of its central character. The play's imaginative brilliance depends upon its author's ability to hint at the dark abyss of passion and emotional violence at whose edge the modish denizens of the...Paperback$5200Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Rivals
Both Sheridan and Goldsmith lamented the popularity of sentimental comedy in the later eighteenth century and wrote their witty and satirical plays (though never lascivious in the manner of Restoration comedies) to counteract the sentimental mode. The Rivals (1775) was a qualified success: the suave young officer who is ‘forced’ by his father to marry the very girl to whom...Paperback$2499Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Rover
Carnival time in The Rover is a period when prohibitions are temporarily removed, privileges and rank suspended, and women—from convent girls to courtesans—take the initiative. Featuring multiple plot lines, which deal with the adventures of a group of love-struck Englishmen in Naples, Aphra Behn's play explores issues of love, trickery and deception, forced marriage, male power, fidelity, and the excesses...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster is widely acclaimed for its intense drama and dark, complex characters. Critics often praise the play's exploration of themes such as power, corruption, and the human condition, highlighting its rich language and intricate plot. While some find its tragic elements haunting, others appreciate its ability to captivate and provoke thought.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781474295673
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 October 2020
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Contributors:
- Edited by Professor Karen Britland
Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 20.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 186g
Pages: 216
About the Author
Karen Britland is Professor of Early Modern English Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Her research interests include early modern drama, the Stuart court, and women’s writing. She has edited plays by Elizabeth Cary, John Marston, and James Shirley, and was an associate editor for the Cambridge Complete Works of Ben Jonson edition between 2000 and 2012.
Also by John Webster
View all-
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi is one of the major tragedies of the early modern period and remains popular in the theatre as well as in the classroom. The story of the Duchess's secret marriage and the cruel revenge of her brothers has fascinated and appalled audiences for centuries. This new Arden edition offers readers a comprehensive, illustrated introduction to the...Paperback$2899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Animal Welfare
An Accessible Overview of the Concept of Sentience Throughout the Animal Kingdom and Why It Matters to Humans Animal Welfare explores the concept of sentience and the development of sentient minds throughout the animal kingdom. The work provides improved definitions and analysis of the ideas of sentience, cognition, and consciousness, along with evidence of advanced mental formulation in birds, fish,...Paperback$23699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Duchess of Malfi
"Neill's edit of the play is very well done. … If there's a more knowledgeable or erudite unraveling of the play, I haven't seen it." -Steve Sohmer, Comitatus This Norton Critical Edition of John Webster's 1612–13 tragedy offers a newly edited and annotated text together with a full introduction and illustrative materials intended for student readers. The Duchess of Malfi's...Paperback$3099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The White Devil
Adultery, intrigue, murder, revenge: the densely-packed plot of The White Devil touches on topics that are representative of the atmosphere of Jacobean tragedy. Part tragedy, part satire of a corrupt political world, the play explores the relations of the powerful to the disempowered; the opportunities and constraints of women trying to survive in a male-dominated society; the complex distribution of...Paperback$3899Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Four Revenge Tragedies
Francis Bacon described revenge as a ‘kind of wild justice’. Then as now, early modern playwrights and their theatre-going public were fascinated by the anarchic energies that a desire for retribution unleashes. Rather than rehearsing familiar conventions, each of these plays presents a unique social and cultural milieu where dark fantasies of revenge are variously played out. In Kyd’s The...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks
More from Arts & Culture
View all-
Dylan's PickBold Types
A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...Hardback$5999Elsewhere:$7000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseHome Again
Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
New ReleaseDisney Moana: The Official Cookbook
Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...Hardback$4499Elsewhere:$5299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Did I Ever Tell You This?
In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...Paperback$3799Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
This Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$7299Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
They Bloom Because of You
Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. ‘A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank ‘A book to keep close and...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Odyssey
Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
14% offLeaves of Grass
A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...Hardback$1900Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
37% offGreat Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...Hardback$2500Usually:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
Beautiful Chaos
The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Odyssey
The Odyssey by Homer is a monumental epic that has enthralled readers for centuries with its rich tapestry of adventure and human struggle. It chronicles the perilous journey of Odysseus, the cunning King of Ithaca, as he strives to return home after the fall of Troy. During this ten-year odyssey, Odysseus confronts myriad dangers, both natural and supernatural, that test...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday -
The Odyssey
The great epic of Western literature, translated by the acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles. A Penguin Classic Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning modern-verse translation. "Sing to me of the...Paperback$3500Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips Monday
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Arts & Culture lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry of Aotearoa
Check out some of the amazing local talent we are spoilt with right here in Aotearoa.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Poetry for Beginners - Where to Start
10 Books I'd recommend to someone new to reading poetry - a mix of old and new, all magical introductions to the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Lizzy's Favourite Books of Poetry
If I could only have 10 poetry collections to survive on for the rest of my life, these are them. Or maybe...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listArts & Culture
Books to read for Women in Translation month!
August is Women in Translation month, but at any time of year it's worth checking out these incredible novels written by women...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Inside the World of Film
Step behind the scenes of the world of filmmaking! Discover iconic directors and movie history of some of the world's memorable films.View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listArts & Culture
Books to Celebrate NZ Music Month
New Zealand Music Month happens every May, it's a reminder that we have so many talented musicians, singer, songwriters here in Aotearoa....View the list
