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Description of  Staging 'The Mysterious Mother' (The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History)

The first book-length study of Horace Walpoles scandalous The Mysterious Mother, including critical essays, an abridged script, and a facsimile edition Horace Walpoles five-act tragedy The Mysterious Mother (1768), a sensational tale of incest and intrigue, was initially circulated only among the authors friends. Walpole never permitted it to be performed during his lifetime except as a private theatrical. He described his play as a delicious entertainment for the closet and claimed that he did not think it would do for the stage. Yet the essays in this volume trace a history of private readings, amateur theatricals, and even early public performances, demonstrating that the play was read and performed more than Walpoles protests suggest. Exploring a wide variety of topicsincluding the plays crypto-Catholicism, its treatments of incest, guilt, motherhood, orphans, and scientific spectacle, and the complex relations between print and performancethe essays demonstrate the rich relevance of Read more