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At a wedding, Lessingham follows Clare's cryptic instruction to kill the friend who loves him most, choosing the groom Bonvile; a misunderstanding averts their duel. Meanwhile, would-be thief Rochfield becomes a wealthy hero, and sailor Compass returns to reconcile with his wife and contest the paternity of her child.
Captain Ager challenges a colonel after an insult to his mother, then discovers the family secret that complicates the duel. In a linked plot, Jane's father falsely imprisons her lover to force a richer match, while Jane gives birth to their child; both conflicts resolve through confession, reconciliation, and marriage.
Usurer Bloodhound plans marriages for himself and his children, including his daughter Moll to an elderly suitor, while she loves the young soldier Ancient Young. In a night of masks and mistaken identities, fortune-hunters, servants and thieves pursue their own schemes; revelations disrupt the double wedding, Moll and Ancient Young marry, and Bloodhound reconciles with his elder son.
Stephen Foster, imprisoned for debt, is freed by his nephew Robert, then returns to gambling and marries a wealthy widow who hopes to find some trouble in her fortunate life. When a storm destroys the merchants’ ships, Stephen helps reform his brother and reconcile the family. In a subplot, Alderman Bruin’s daughter Jane prefers Robert to two foolish suitors, and the play ends with family reconciliation and a charitable foundation.
In Roman Britain, princes Elred and Offa flee after their father’s defeat and disguise themselves as shoemakers. Offa, as Crispin, secretly marries Princess Leodice; Elred, as Crispianus, becomes a Roman military hero, while the Christian officer Albon and hermit Amphiabel are martyred. The subplot follows Winifred’s religious vocation and martyrdom, which inspires shoemakers’ honorific 'the gentle craft.'
In Rowley's Jacobean tragedy, King Roderick rapes his general Julianus's daughter Jacinta, prompting rebellion and an alliance with the Moorish king. A subplot follows Antonio's secret marriage and betrayal; the intertwined stories end in military defeat, mutilation, and multiple deaths.
Two rural families’ fortunes reverse: the mild Forrests lose their wealth while the ruthless Hardings prosper. After Old Forrest’s son is killed, his younger son flees to sea, becomes a successful privateer, defeats pirates and rescues a merchant. At home, the elder Harding son and his wife endure service until his father’s sudden death leaves him the estate; the younger Forrest later wins a pardon, and the families reconcile.
A comic Arthurian romance follows Joan's search for the father of her child, the devil, and Merlin's birth and emergence as a prophet who aids the Britons against the Saxons.
In Alicante, Beatrice-Joanna recruits De Flores to murder her unwanted fiancé so that she can marry Alsemero; the crime entangles them in a tragic cycle of coercion and deceit. A parallel comic plot follows impostors and inmates in a madhouse.
Ismenia and Antonio fall in love despite a feud between their families, while their companions’ pursuit and a botched pageant complicate their courtships. At the same time, the miller’s daughter Florimel is abducted by Count Otrante but resists his attempts to make her his mistress; the king eventually discovers she is the long-lost daughter of a nobleman, clearing the way for her marriage and the resolution of the romances.
In Epire, a duke imposes a law sentencing men over eighty and women over sixty to death. The law exposes greed and virtue in two families: one son welcomes his inheritance, while another fakes his father's death to save him. The trial reveals the law as a test of character and the supposed victims alive.
A nobleman abducts and rapes Clara, then later seeks to atone, while a separate plot follows nobleman Don John joining a gypsy troupe to court Pretiosa. The plots converge through mistaken identities, family revelations and reconciliation.
Princess Ariadne and her husband Radagon are cast adrift by her father Pheander, who falsely believes she is unchaste. Separated and living among shepherds under assumed identities, the couple and their grown son Eusanius fail to recognize one another as royal conflicts lead to battle. Their identities are revealed before father and son kill each other, restoring peace and uniting the three couples.
An adventure drama based on the travels of brothers Thomas, Anthony and Robert Shirley, contrasting Christian England and Muslim Persia while following the brothers through violence, intrigue and encounters with the Persian shah.
The ostracized Elizabeth Sawyer turns to witchcraft and gains a devil-dog familiar called Tom. In parallel, Frank Thorney enters a bigamous marriage and murders Susan while trying to escape with his first wife Winnifride. The play also follows the innocent clown Cuddy Banks, whom the dog cannot corrupt.
Impoverished Younger Pallatine plots with Lady Ample and her followers to outwit his wealthy brother and the elderly men who pursue the women for money. A series of tricks humiliates the self-styled wits and a miserly guardian, leaving Younger Pallatine and Lucy free to marry and Lady Ample willing to marry the older brother on her own terms.
A political court masque commissioned by Prince Charles to urge James I to abandon pacifism in the Thirty Years' War. Mythological figures and personifications dramatize the conflict, including a dance and quarrel among five colored starches, before Deceit is defeated by the Lawyer and the Devil by the Church.
Wittypate Oldcraft is cast out by his father to live by his wits and joins a group of con artists who fleece the old knight. Meanwhile the knight’s heiress niece resists an arranged marriage, helps secure a match with her preferred suitor and outmaneuvers the foolish Sir Gregory.
At a wedding, Lessingham follows Clare's cryptic instruction to kill the friend who loves him most, choosing the groom Bonvile; a misunderstanding averts their duel. Meanwhile, would-be thief Rochfield becomes a wealthy hero, and sailor Compass returns to reconcile with his wife and contest the paternity of her child.
Captain Ager challenges a colonel after an insult to his mother, then discovers the family secret that complicates the duel. In a linked plot, Jane's father falsely imprisons her lover to force a richer match, while Jane gives birth to their child; both conflicts resolve through confession, reconciliation, and marriage.
Usurer Bloodhound plans marriages for himself and his children, including his daughter Moll to an elderly suitor, while she loves the young soldier Ancient Young. In a night of masks and mistaken identities, fortune-hunters, servants and thieves pursue their own schemes; revelations disrupt the double wedding, Moll and Ancient Young marry, and Bloodhound reconciles with his elder son.
Stephen Foster, imprisoned for debt, is freed by his nephew Robert, then returns to gambling and marries a wealthy widow who hopes to find some trouble in her fortunate life. When a storm destroys the merchants’ ships, Stephen helps reform his brother and reconcile the family. In a subplot, Alderman Bruin’s daughter Jane prefers Robert to two foolish suitors, and the play ends with family reconciliation and a charitable foundation.
In Roman Britain, princes Elred and Offa flee after their father’s defeat and disguise themselves as shoemakers. Offa, as Crispin, secretly marries Princess Leodice; Elred, as Crispianus, becomes a Roman military hero, while the Christian officer Albon and hermit Amphiabel are martyred. The subplot follows Winifred’s religious vocation and martyrdom, which inspires shoemakers’ honorific 'the gentle craft.'
In Rowley's Jacobean tragedy, King Roderick rapes his general Julianus's daughter Jacinta, prompting rebellion and an alliance with the Moorish king. A subplot follows Antonio's secret marriage and betrayal; the intertwined stories end in military defeat, mutilation, and multiple deaths.
Two rural families’ fortunes reverse: the mild Forrests lose their wealth while the ruthless Hardings prosper. After Old Forrest’s son is killed, his younger son flees to sea, becomes a successful privateer, defeats pirates and rescues a merchant. At home, the elder Harding son and his wife endure service until his father’s sudden death leaves him the estate; the younger Forrest later wins a pardon, and the families reconcile.
A comic Arthurian romance follows Joan's search for the father of her child, the devil, and Merlin's birth and emergence as a prophet who aids the Britons against the Saxons.
In Alicante, Beatrice-Joanna recruits De Flores to murder her unwanted fiancé so that she can marry Alsemero; the crime entangles them in a tragic cycle of coercion and deceit. A parallel comic plot follows impostors and inmates in a madhouse.
Ismenia and Antonio fall in love despite a feud between their families, while their companions’ pursuit and a botched pageant complicate their courtships. At the same time, the miller’s daughter Florimel is abducted by Count Otrante but resists his attempts to make her his mistress; the king eventually discovers she is the long-lost daughter of a nobleman, clearing the way for her marriage and the resolution of the romances.
In Epire, a duke imposes a law sentencing men over eighty and women over sixty to death. The law exposes greed and virtue in two families: one son welcomes his inheritance, while another fakes his father's death to save him. The trial reveals the law as a test of character and the supposed victims alive.
A nobleman abducts and rapes Clara, then later seeks to atone, while a separate plot follows nobleman Don John joining a gypsy troupe to court Pretiosa. The plots converge through mistaken identities, family revelations and reconciliation.
Princess Ariadne and her husband Radagon are cast adrift by her father Pheander, who falsely believes she is unchaste. Separated and living among shepherds under assumed identities, the couple and their grown son Eusanius fail to recognize one another as royal conflicts lead to battle. Their identities are revealed before father and son kill each other, restoring peace and uniting the three couples.
An adventure drama based on the travels of brothers Thomas, Anthony and Robert Shirley, contrasting Christian England and Muslim Persia while following the brothers through violence, intrigue and encounters with the Persian shah.
The ostracized Elizabeth Sawyer turns to witchcraft and gains a devil-dog familiar called Tom. In parallel, Frank Thorney enters a bigamous marriage and murders Susan while trying to escape with his first wife Winnifride. The play also follows the innocent clown Cuddy Banks, whom the dog cannot corrupt.
Impoverished Younger Pallatine plots with Lady Ample and her followers to outwit his wealthy brother and the elderly men who pursue the women for money. A series of tricks humiliates the self-styled wits and a miserly guardian, leaving Younger Pallatine and Lucy free to marry and Lady Ample willing to marry the older brother on her own terms.
A political court masque commissioned by Prince Charles to urge James I to abandon pacifism in the Thirty Years' War. Mythological figures and personifications dramatize the conflict, including a dance and quarrel among five colored starches, before Deceit is defeated by the Lawyer and the Devil by the Church.
Wittypate Oldcraft is cast out by his father to live by his wits and joins a group of con artists who fleece the old knight. Meanwhile the knight’s heiress niece resists an arranged marriage, helps secure a match with her preferred suitor and outmaneuvers the foolish Sir Gregory.