Thomas Middleton & William Rowley: The Changeling

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New Mermaids is a series of over sixty modernised and fully annotated classic plays, with an active program of new editions. New Mermaids are edited and updated by experienced teachers who are internationally recognised as authorities in their field. They are ideal for, and accessible to, actors, theatre-goers and students and are printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, with annotations below the text and a comprehensive introduction. 

'The next good mood I find my father in, I'll get him quite discarded.'

With these chillingly offhand words, Beatrice-Joanna, the spoilt daughter of a powerful nobleman, plots to get rid of the family servant who has crossed her once too often. The Changeling remains one of the most compelling tragedies from the seventeenth century. Exposing the vexed relationship between servants and masters, setting notions of 'change' against the revelation of psychological 'secrets' as ways of explaining human behaviour, and exploring the idea of love as a 'tame madness', the play reveals the terrifying consequences of ungoverned sexual appetite and betrayal. Despite its seemingly domestic focus, The Changeling has much to reveal about the gathering social and political tensions that were to plunge England into a destructive civil war within twenty years of its first performance.

This new student edition contains a lengthy new Introduction with background on the authors, date and sources, theme, critical interpretation and stage history.

The New Mermaids plays offer:

• Modernised versions of the play text edited to the highest textual standards
• Fully annotated student editions with obscure words explained and critical, contextual and staging insight provided on each page
• Full Introductions analysing context, themes, author background and stage history