This timely book challenges conventional critical wisdom about the work of Ben Jonson. Julie Sanders investigates notions of community in Jonson's stage worlds - his 'theatrical republics' - and reveals a Jonson to contrast with the traditional image of the writer as conservative, absolutist, misogynist, and essentially 'anti-theatrical'.
Julie Sanders is Lecturer in English at Keele University.
Acknowledgements Note on Editions Used Introduction PART I: REPUBLICS - FAKE AND GENUINE Roman Frames of Mind 'Saying Something About Venice' PART II: THEATRICAL REPUBLICS The Alternative Commonwealth of Women Republicanism and Theatre The Republic in the Fair PART III: THEATRICAL COMMONWEALTHS AND COMMUNITIES The Commonwealth of Hell: The Devil is an Ass The Commonwealth of Paper: Print, News, and The Staple of News Alternative Societies: The New Inn and the Late Plays Local Government and Personal Rule in A Tale of a Tub Conclusion: The End of [T] his Commonwealth Does Not Forget the Beginning Notes Bibliography Index
