The Massacre at Paris - (Revels Plays) by Mathew R Martin (Paperback)

About the Book

This Revels Plays edition of Christopher Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris opens up this powerful dramatisation of the French Wars of Religion to student and scholar through its comprehensive introduction, full collation and commentary notes, and an appendix containing a fragment from a lost, fuller version of the play.

Book Synopsis

This volume presents a modernised edition of Christopher Marlowe's critical engagement with one of the bloodiest and traumatic episodes of the French Wars of Religion, the wholesale massacre of French Huguenots in Paris in August, 1572. Sensorily shocking and intellectually gripping, the play's dramatic action spans a tumultuous two decades in French history to unfold for its audience the tragic consequences of religious fanaticism, power politics, and dynastic rivalry.

Comprehensively introduced and containing full commentary notes, this edition opens up this frequently neglected but historically significant and dramatically powerful play to student and scholar alike. The introduction examines such topics as the history of the massacre, the play's treatment of its sources, the play's dramatisation of trauma, and the play's exploration of notions of religious toleration.

From the Back Cover

This volume presents a modernised edition of Christopher Marlowe's critical engagement with one of the bloodiest and traumatic episodes of the French Wars of Religion, the wholesale massacre of French Huguenots in Paris in August, 1572. Sensorily shocking and intellectually gripping, the play's dramatic action spans a tumultuous two decades in French history to unfold for its audience the tragic consequences of religious fanaticism, power politics, and dynastic rivalry.

Comprehensively introduced and containing full commentary notes, this edition opens up this frequently neglected but historically significant and dramatically powerful play to student and scholar alike. The introduction examines such topics as the history of the massacre, the play's treatment of its sources, the play's dramatisation of trauma, and the play's exploration of notions of religious toleration. Its notes record the text's full collation with all extant early editions and major modern editions. Its commentary notes clarify the meaning of the text and aspects of its staging, guide the reader through the play's dramatisation of early modern French history, and place the play in its broader cultural and artistic milieu. An appendix reproduces a modernised and annotated version of the Collier Leaf, a fragment from a fuller but now lost version of the play.

This Revels edition aims to encourage new contemporary critical study of Marlowe's powerful and provocative drama.

Review Quotes

'Martin's edition of The Massacre at Paris is an excellent resource for scholars and students looking to familiarise themselves with one of Marlowe's most neglected works, at a time when its thematic preoccupation with religious conflict, civil violence, and traumatic memory still resonates.'
Chloe Kathleen Preedy, Journal of Marlowe Studies, Vol. 4 (2024): The Marlowe Festival Special Issue

About the Author

Mathew R. Martin is Professor of English Language and Literature at Brock University, Canada