{"product_id":"staging-the-mysterious-mother","title":"Staging \"The Mysterious Mother\"","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe first book-length study of Horace Walpole’s scandalous \u003ci\u003eThe Mysterious Mother\u003c\/i\u003e, including critical essays, an abridged script, and a facsimile edition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Horace Walpole’s five-act tragedy \u003ci\u003eThe Mysterious Mother \u003c\/i\u003e(1768), a sensational tale of incest and intrigue, was initially circulated only among the author’s friends. Walpole never permitted it to be performed during his lifetime except as a private theatrical. He described his play as a “delicious entertainment for the closet” and claimed that he “did not think it would do for the stage.” Yet the essays in this volume trace a history of private readings, amateur theatricals, and even early public performances, demonstrating that the play was read and performed more than Walpole’s protests suggest. Exploring a wide variety of topics—including the play’s crypto-Catholicism, its treatments of incest, guilt, motherhood, orphans, and scientific spectacle, and the complex relations between print and performance—the essays demonstrate the rich relevance of \u003ci\u003eThe Mysterious Mother\u003c\/i\u003e to current critical discussions.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The volume includes the proceedings of a mini-conference hosted at Yale University in 2018 on the occasion of a staged reading of the play. Also included are the director’s reflections, an abridged script, a facsimile of Walpole’s own copy of the full-length play, and reproductions of the illustrations he commissioned from Lady Diana Beauclerk.","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54217762079064,"sku":"9780300263657","price":67.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780300263657.jpg?v=1778725817","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/staging-the-mysterious-mother","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}