Description
About The Play
The Jew of Malta was first performed in 1592, The Jew of Malta was one of the most popular plays of its day and has been a treasure of the Elizabethan Renaissance ever since. Set on the island of Malta when it was a center of Mediterranean trade, it deals with power and power struggles on several levels: between individuals, groups, and empires, and between money, family, and political authority. The title figure of the play is Barabas, grown wealthy by successful overseas trade. Depicted as the personification of Machiavellian ideas (as Machiavelli was understood in Elizabethan England), Barabas feels loyalty solely to his daughter and himself. His wealth makes him vulnerable to more powerful men. Threatened by the arbitrary rule of princes, he attempts to contend with them as best he can. The ensuing plots and counterplots present a spectacle of cunning, in which one machination inspires or justifies another. As an example of dramaturgy and as a record of England’s expanding attention to European power politics, the play is rivaled only by Shakespeare’s best. A cast of at least 15 men and 5 women with Prologue, 5 Acts and an Epilogue.
Publishing Info
The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe, and edited by Richard W. Van Fossen. A Bison Book published by the University of Nebraska Press with 1964 copyright. This paperback measures about 8″ x 5-1/4″ and has 122 pages, ending with an Appendix. There in a long Introduction and other helpful notes before the play starts.
Condition
Enlarge scan for better view. In very good condition for age. Unread but with rubbing on the cover and age/storage spotting on top page edges of closed book. The pages are toning a bit from age but are in very good condition. The binding is tight and square and has no reading creases. No names or library markings, but a WITHDRAWN stamp on half-title page. From clean, smoke-free home.
Shipping
Unless you request otherwise, I will wrap the book in plastic wrap to help protect it from the elements, create a custom-made cardboard box to ship it in, and send via Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation tracking. See the Shipping page for the cost to send a one-pound Media Mail package. Insurance is an additional cost as described. I am delighted to combine postage and insurance costs if you purchase more than one item. The second item may travel for free or just a few cents more — so it’s worth taking a look at my other items before you complete your order.
Not sure?
If you’d like more information or photos, please feel free to contact me. If it’s the price you don’t like, make a reasonable offer!
Check out my other play scripts — and ask about the combined-postage discount!
