Publisher's Synopsis
At a time when Shakespeare was still a struggling unknown, John Lyly (1554?-1606) was already the principal court dramatist and author of the period's best-selling prose work, the wonderfully elaborated and, in its day, much-imitated Euphues.
To his contemporaries, Lyly was one of the major luminaries of the time; they would have been shocked by the totality of his later eclipse. A lack of modern editions meant that his work was neglected even by scholars. This edition brings his achievement before a wider audience, restoring him to his pivotal place in the English Renaissance.
Three texts are included: a substantial extract from Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, and the plays Campaspe (the first significant comedy of the English Renaissance) and Gallathea (which exercised a considerable influence on Shakespeare). The texts are edited from first editions; the extract from Euphues is the first modern spelling edition of the 1578 text. Leah Scragg's introduction and annotations contribute to the revaluation of this key figure in English literature.
