Dick of Devonshire - (Revels Plays) by Kate Ellis (Paperback)

About the Book

The first ever critical edition of Thomas Heywood's 1626 play, Dick of Devonshire, presented for the first time with an anthology of its source material.

Book Synopsis

Dick of Devonshire by Thomas Heywood dramatises England's disastrous 1625 Cadiz expedition through the story of a foot-soldier turned national hero. For the first time, The Revels Plays publishes a scholarly modern-spelling edition of this unduly overlooked play, together with an anthology of its source material. The play, written in 1626, exists in only one contemporary manuscript, now contained in MS Egerton 1994. There is no evidence that the work was printed or performed in its time, and until now, its authorship has remained uncertain. Ellis's critical introduction analyses new data that uncovers the play's authorship, playing company, and playhouse for the first time, as well as exploring the occasion of the play, its textual and theatrical histories, and its stagecraft. Commentary notes guiding the modern reader include explanatory glosses, literary references, and notes on historical context.

From the Back Cover

With its swashbuckling rendition of English heroism in the face of adversity, and a sub-plot experimenting with ideas of form that would characterise his later work, Thomas Heywood's Dick of Devonshire is a play to be played. The absence of evidence to support the occasion of any such performance, therefore, is unexpected, particularly given Heywood's contemporary theatrical success and reputation. Nevertheless, the playtext and its sole surviving textual witness offer tantalising fragments of evidence about the play and its stagecraft, both of which are explored fully in this edition.

Derived from a contemporary pamphlet, Dick of Devonshire dramatises the story of Richard Pike, a foot soldier from Tavistock in Devon, captured by Spanish troops during the ill-fated Cadiz expedition of 1625. Outnumbered, and challenged by his captors to demonstrate his military prowess, Pike faces his opponents, armed with his weapon of choice, the humble quarterstaff. Through Pike's adventures, Heywood presents an alternative narrative of the otherwise disastrous Cadiz expedition, countering the tales of drunkenness and defeat that returned to England with the fleet.

This Revels Plays edition is the first fully annotated, critical edition of Dick of Devonshire, and the first edition to bear Heywood's name as author. It offers scholarly discussion of the play's textual and theatrical history, placing it for the first time in the context of its newly-proven authorship, playing company, and playhouse. Along with an appendix anthologising contemporary source material, this edition provides a long overdue critical appraisal of this unjustly neglected play.

About the Author

Kate Ellis is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter