Timon of Athens Third Series

"Timon of Athens" has struck many readers as rough and unpolished, perhaps even unfinished, though to others it has appeared as Shakespeare's most profound tragic allegory. The editors provide detailed annotation of the text and explore the wide range of critical and theatrical interpretations that the play has engendered. Tracing both its satirical and tragic strains, their introduction presents a perspective on the play's meanings that combines careful elucidation of historical context with analysis of its relevance to modern-day society. An extensive and well-illustrated account of the play's production history generates a rich sense of how the play can speak to different historical moments in specific and rewarding ways.

Anthony B. Dawson is Professor of English Emeritus at the University of British Columbia.

Gretchen E. Minton is an Assistant Professor of English at Montana State University in Bozeman. She specializes in Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as the literature of the English Reformation and has published articles on Augustine, Erasmus, John Foxe, John Bale, and Shakespeare, as well as contemporary film and drama.

“Their survey of scholarly issues...and authorship is excellent, and their lively awareness of Middleton’s contribution is built into a critical introduction that... could scarcely be bettered ...Illuminating comparisons to other works...Pages are spiced with details from a range of stage productions, besides including a separate performance history.... Dawson and Minton are judicious editors ...(and) have provided an admirable edition of Shakespeare and Middleton’s challenging collaborative play.”—Shakespeare Quarterly