A study of the cultural and economic status of playwriting between 1660 and 1710. The author argues that this period saw the move towards modern attitudes of dramatic art - which require authors to be the sole begetters of their works - and explores developments in the theatrical marketplace.

A Note on Dates and Texts ; Prologue ; 1. The Playwright and the Marketplace ; 2. The Proprieties of Appropriation ; 3. Plagiarism and Property ; 4. Collaboration ; 5. The Canon ; Epilogue ; Appendix A: Dramatic Collaboration, 1590-1720 ; Appendix B: Collected Editions of Plays, 1604-1720 ; Bibliography ; Index of Plays ; General Index

`The study represents a formidable amount of research ... combines thoroughness with an ability to theorize, close reading with an ability to chart developments in politics, economics, theatre and publishing. ... By looking at archive material in a fresh light, Kewes is able to offer a fresh account of the formation of the canon of English drama. Her work impacts on a variety of fields apart from theatre studies, from bibliography to Schakespeare studies. I felt humbled by this book and productively challenged.' Theatre Research International, vol. 26/3 `quite subtle (and sometimes conflicting) notions of appropriative licence and limitation are identified, distinct both from earlier notions of imitation and the later cult of originality.' Theatre Research International, vol. 26/3 `This ground-breaking and scholarly book charts the transition from Renaissance ideas of dramatic authorship to modern ones.' Theatre Research International, vol. 26/3 `Perhaps the greatest compliment one can offer Kewes is to say that this monograph makes one long for her to go on and explore such matters further.' Malcolm Kelsall, The Yearbook of English Studies (31) `The two long discussions of Langbaine are particularly strong and deserve to provoke renewed attention to the issue of "sources" in Restoration theatre.' Malcolm Kelsall, The Yearbook of English Studies (31) `the enormous strength of this monograph is the close attention given to the detail of the market as it developed.' Malcolm Kelsall, The Yearbook of English Studies (31)

The first full-length study of the cultural and economic status of playwriting in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Modern scholarship has supposed that stress on 'originality' in literature was largely a development of the C18. This book uses hitherto neglected evidence to testify to a substantial and growing concern for independent composition among playwrights and readers in the second half of the C17. Applies its argument a number of prominent playwrights of the period, including Dryden, Otway, Lee, Behn, and their successors Congreve, Vanbrugh, and Farquhar. Shows the Restoration period to have been one of serious and animated debate about the methods of playwriting.

The first full-length study of the cultural and economic status of playwriting in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Modern scholarship has supposed that stress on 'originality' in literature was largely a development of the C18. This book uses hitherto neglected evidence to testify to a substantial and growing concern for independent composition among playwrights and readers in the second half of the C17. Applies its argument a number of prominent playwrights of the period, including Dryden, Otway, Lee, Behn, and their successors Congreve, Vanbrugh, and Farquhar. Shows the Restoration period to have been one of serious and animated debate about the methods of playwriting.