Ben Jonson's contemporaries admired him above all other playwrights and poets of the English Renaissance. He was the "great refiner" who alchemized the bleakest aspects of everyday life into brilliant images of folly and deceit. He was also a celebrated reprobate and an ambitious entrepreneur. David Riggs illuminates every facet of this extraordinary career, giving us the first major biography of Jonson in over sixty years. The story of Jonson's life provides a broad view of the literary procession in early modern England ...
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Ben Jonson's contemporaries admired him above all other playwrights and poets of the English Renaissance. He was the "great refiner" who alchemized the bleakest aspects of everyday life into brilliant images of folly and deceit. He was also a celebrated reprobate and an ambitious entrepreneur. David Riggs illuminates every facet of this extraordinary career, giving us the first major biography of Jonson in over sixty years. The story of Jonson's life provides a broad view of the literary procession in early modern England and the milieu in which Elizabethan drama was produced. Beginning as a journeyman actor, Jonson was soon a novice playwright; his first important play was staged in 1598, with Shakespeare in the cast. He was by turns the self-styled leader of a literary elite, a writer of court masques, the first dramatist to publish his own Works , a royal pensioner, and a genteel poet. As Jonson transformed himself from an artisan into a gentleman, his need to transcend his class origins led him to murder, to his notorious quarrels with Thomas Dekker, John Marston, and Inigo Jones, and to his lifelong rivalry with Shakespeare. Riggs traces the roots of Jonson's aggressiveness back to the turmoil of his childhood and adolescence. He offers new and convincing accounts of Jonson's latent hostility toward his bricklayer stepfather, his reckless marriage to Anne Lewis, and his conflicted relationships with his children. This vivid portrait synthesizes six decades of scholarship and new historical evidence. Sixty halftones beautifully illustrate the story and capture the spirit of the age. With Riggs' original interpretations of Jonson's masterpieces and lesser known works, Ben Jonson: A Life will prove the standard account of this complex man's life and works for many years to come.
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Add this copy of Ben Jonson: A Life to cart. $6.00, very good condition, Sold by Booksup rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Laguna Niguel, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life, to cart. $7.50, good condition, Sold by Dunaway Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Saint Louis, MO, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life to cart. $8.25, fair condition, Sold by Websters Bookstore Cafe rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from State College, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life (Garland Library of Medieval) to cart. $9.00, good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life to cart. $10.45, good condition, Sold by BayStateBooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Smithfield, RI, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
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Seller's Description:
The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting and there might be a From the library of label. Boxed set packaging shrink wrap or included media like CDs may be missing.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life (Garland Library of Medieval) to cart. $11.50, very good condition, Sold by Chaparral Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life (Garland Library of Medieval) to cart. $25.00, Sold by boredom books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life to cart. $26.24, good condition, Sold by BARNABY rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Oxford, OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Good Condition. Dust jacket is complete, but shows signs of wear, with rubbing, creasing and a few closed tears at edges. Text unmarked and uncreased. Overall, in good shape. Size: 22 x-22 x 22 cm. viii, 399 pp. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Biography & Autobiography; Jonson, Ben, 1573? -1637; Authors, English--Early modern, 1500-1700--Biography; ISBN: 0674066251. ISBN/EAN: 9780674066250. Add. Inventory No: 250221JPY0586315.
Add this copy of Ben Jonson: a Life (Garland Library of Medieval) to cart. $26.66, poor condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. Book contains pencil markings. In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 750grams, ISBN: 9780674066267.
