Nicholas Rowe was the first Poet Laureate of the Georgian era. A fascinating and important yet largely overlooked figure in eighteenth-century literature, he is the ‘lost Augustan’. His plays are important both for the way they address the political and social concerns of the day and for reflecting a period in which the theatre was in crisis. This edition sets out to demonstrate Rowe’s mastery of the early eighteenth century theatre, especially his providing significant roles for women, and examines the political and historical stances of his plays. It also highlights his work as a translator, which was both innovative and deeply in tune with current practices as exemplified by John Dryden and Alexander Pope. This is the first scholarly edition of all Rowe’s plays and poems and is accompanied by 15 musical scores and 31 black and white illustrations. The first three volumes arrange his plays chronologically with the first volume presenting the early plays, The Ambitious Step-Mother, Tamerlane, and The Fair Penitent; the second volume the middle plays, The Biter, Ulysses, and The Royal Convert; and the third volume his late period plays, The Tragedy of Jane Shore and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey. The subsequent volumes cover his translation of Lucan’s Pharsalia, described by Samuel Johnson as one of the greatest productions in English poetry, and his own original poetry — which was often composed for specific occasions. Each volume contains a newly written explanatory introduction which precedes the full edited text. Appendices covering dedications, prologues and epilogues, performance history, the related music and textual apparatus are also included. The edition comes with a consolidated bibliography for ease of reference.

Table of Contents:
Volume I: The Early Plays Acknowledgements List of illustrations General introduction by Stephen Bernard and Michael Caines Nicholas Rowe: A Chronology by Stephen Bernard and Michael Caines A note on the editorial policy for the edition by Stephen Bernard Introduction to The Ambitious Step-mother, Tamerlane, and The Fair Penitent by Rebecca Bullard and John McTague Publication history and textual note to The Ambitious Step-mother, Tamerlane, and The Fair Penitent The Ambitious Step-Mother edited by Rebecca Bullard Tamerlane edited by John McTague The Fair Penitent edited by Rebecca Bullard Appendix A: Dedication to Edward, 7th Earl of Warwick and 4th Earl of Holland (1714) edited by John McTague Appendix B: Sir Samuel Garth’s prologue to Tamerlane edited by John McTague Appendix C: The performance history of the early plays by Rebecca Bullard and John McTague Appendix D: A note on the music to Rowe’s plays; the music to Tamerlane and The Fair Penitent edited by Joe Lockwood Textual apparatus of the early period plays by Rebecca Bullard and John McTague Volume II: The Middle Period Plays Introduction to The Biter, Ulysses, and The Royal Convert by Michael Caines Publication history and textual note to The Biter, Ulysses, and The Royal Convert by Michael Caines The Biter edited by Michael Caines Ulysses edited by Michael Caines The Royal Convert edited by Michael Caines Appendix A: the performance history of the middle period plays by Michael Caines Appendix B: music to The Biter by Joe Lockwood Textual apparatus of the middle period plays by Michael Caines Volume III: The Late Plays Introduction to The Tragedy of Jane Shore and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey by Claudine van Hensbergen Publication history and textual note to The Tragedy of Jane Shore and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey by Claudine van Hensbergen The Tragedy of Jane Shore edited by Claudine van Hensbergen The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey edited by Claudine van Hensbergen Appendix A: Curll’s additions to The Tragedy Jane Shore by Claudine van Hensbergen Appendix B: epilogues to The Tragedy Jane Shore by Claudine van Hensbergen Appendix C: the performance history of the late period plays by Claudine van Hensbergen Appendix D: music to the late plays by Joe Lockwood Textual apparatus of the late period plays by Claudine van Hensbergen Volume IV: Poems and Lucan’s Pharsalia (Books I-III) Introduction to Rowe’s poems by Stephen Bernard Poems edited by Stephen Bernard with The Golden Verses of Pythagoras edited by Scott Scullion Appendix: the music of Rowe’s poetry by Joe Lockwood Textual apparatus of Rowe’s poems by Stephen Bernard Introduction to Lucan’s Pharsalia by Robin Sowerby ‘The Dedication’ by Anne Rowe and ‘The Preface Giving Some Account of Lucan and His Works, and of Mr. Rowe’ by James Welwood edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book I edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book II edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book III edited by Robin Sowerby Volume V: Lucan’s Pharsalia (Books IV-X) Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book IV edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book V edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book VI edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book VII edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book VIII edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book IX edited by Robin Sowerby Lucan’s Pharsalia, Book X edited by Robin Sowerby Textual apparatus of Lucan’s Pharsalia by Robin Sowerby Bibliography