Thomas Nashe and Late Elizabethan Writing

Thomas Nashe was a Renaissance writer who was famous for his scurrilous novel, The Unfortunate Traveller (1594). He also played a central role in early English theater, collaborating with Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare. Andrew Hadfield's critical biography provides an overview of Nashe's life and work, tracing his uproarious history through religious controversies, pornographic poetry, and the bubonic plague. Hadfield emphasizes the range, verve, and specificity of Nashe's writings, and his skill in contextualizing them without overshadowing their literary brio.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 01 February 2023
Publisher: Reaktion Books

Thomas Nashe, a scandalous Renaissance writer, lived from 1567 to around 1600. His writings caused theater closures and book bans due to their scandalous nature. Nashe is best known for his novel, "The Unfortunate Traveller" (1594), which was a central part of early English theater, collaborating with Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare.

Through religious controversies, pornographic poetry, and the bubonic plague, Andrew Hadfield explores the uproarious history of this celebrated English writer. Nashe's work was banned by church authorities, and he was known for his productivity and provocation. Hadfield's new life opens up these funny, savage, and deeply topical works for a new readership, emphasizing their range, verve, and specificity. He contextualizes Nashe's writing without overshadowing its literary brio and recovers the writer that all his contemporaries, including Shakespeare, wanted to emulate.

Nashe's life was marked by controversy, and he was often in trouble with the law. He was a skilled poet and playwright, and his works were widely read and admired by his contemporaries. Despite his scandalous reputation, Nashe remains a significant figure in English literature, and his writings continue to be studied and celebrated today.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789146875