The Alchemist

by Ben Jonson, Elizabeth Cook (Editor)

Overview

The Alchemist is a sublimely accomplished satirical farce about dreams of self-refinement: people want to transform themselves into something nobler, richer, more powerful, and more virile just as base metal was touted to be transformed into gold in the alchemical process.

The play is generally considered Ben Jonson's best comedy, deftly exposing human foible and foolishness to mockery and has continued to thrive in stage productions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408110201
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Series:	New Mermaids
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

The editor, Elizabeth Cook, is the author of the fiction Achilles editor of Dekker and Middleton's The Roaring Girl for the New Mermaids and of the Oxford Authors' John Keats. She has lectured at the universities of Essex and Leeds.

Table of Contents

General editor's preface
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction

1. Life and Character
2. Alchemy
3. The Play
4. Jonson's Verse
5. Stage History
6. The Text

The Alchemist
Index to Annotations

Editorial Reviews

Reprint of the Methuen edition published in 1967. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Introducing students to this witty, farcical play will be so much easier with the new Broadview edition. The joy of this play is its topical satire, and to access it students need a thorough grounding in alchemy and in the contemporary culture of early modern London, both of which this edition provides.” — Margaret J. Oakes, Furman University

“The new Broadview edition of The Alchemist, edited by John Greenwood, is a delight. The play’s annotations are clear and complete. The edition includes extensive contextual materials, including coney-catching pamphlets, an alchemist’s guide, and some of Jonson’s own commonplace book’s entries. I am looking forward to teaching the play with this exciting new text.” — Rebecca Ann Bach, University of Alabama at Birmingham

“John Greenwood’s edition of Ben Jonson’s riotous early modern comedy, The Alchemist, captures the play’s essentials for student and more advanced scholar alike with its concise and informative introduction, helpful notes, and judiciously chosen appendix material. The edition will be a delight to use in the classroom.” — Mathew Martin, Brock University

“Kelly Stage’s edition of Dekker and Middleton’s The Roaring Girl and John Greenwood’s of Jonson’s The Alchemist, both from the Broadview Press, are convenient, handsome volumes … Each of the editors contributes a framing introduction to their play, and these also strike a Goldilocks standard, with a short biography of the playwrights and enough other background information to get a reader underway. Their common tone is informative, brisk, and accessible.” — William N. West, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900

From the Publisher