Rereading Rennaisance drama in its historical and cultural context, renowned Renaissance scholar Lisa Jardine raises intriguing questions about how the culture and history of the past illuminates key social and political issues of today. From how the rhetorical rules for letter-writing outline the misuse and breakdown of communication in King Lear, and how competing loyalties of companionate marriage and male friendship intensify the gender conflicts in Middleton's The Changling.

"A splendid collection of essays by one of the most distinguished and original scholars on both sides of the Atlantic."
--Natalie Zemon Davis, Princeton University

"Lisa Jardine is an exhilarating guide to the critical controversies and new perspectives that have recently transformed our understanding of Shakespeare."
--Stephen Greenblatt, UC-Berkeley