{"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":"Jonathan Kramnick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42849046396989,"sku":"9780300263657","price":102.56,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9780300263657_9e6576d8-e3f5-4432-9e77-eb655bdfe75b.jpg?v=1766991916","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/staging-the-mysterious-mother","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}