Scarecrow Press
Pages: 432
Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-0-8108-6123-7 • Hardback • June 2008 • $168.00 • (£110.00)
Amnon Kabatchnik, now retired, was a Professor of Theatre at SUNY Binghamton, Stanford University, Ohio State University, Florida State University, and Elmira College. He is the author of Sherlock Holmes: A Chronological Encyclopedia of Plays Featuring the Great Detective (2008), and Blood on the Stage: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery and Detection, An Annotated Repertoire, 1925-1950 (2009), both published by Scarecrow Press.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prometheus Bound (480 B.C.) by Aeschylus
The Danaid Tetralogy (463 B.C.) by Aeschylus
Oresteia (458 B.C.) by Aeschylus
Women of Trachis aka The Trachiniae (c. 450 B.C.) by Sophocles
Ajax (c. 444 B.C.) by Sophocles
Antigone (c. 442 B.C.) by Sophocles
Medea (431 B.C.) by Euripides
Oedipus the King (c. 429 B.C.) by Sophocles
Wasps (422 B.C.) by Aristophanes
Women at the Thesmophoria Festival (411 B.C.) by Aristophanes
Electra (c. 409 B.C.) by Sophocles
The Bacchae aka The Bacchantes (405 B.C.) by Euripides
Plutus aka Wealth (388 B.C.) by Aristophanes
The Rope aka Rudens (c. 211 B.C.) by Titus Maccius Plautus
The Haunted House (200 B.C.) by Titus Maccius Plautus
The Pot of Gold (c. 194 B.C.) by Titus Maccius Plautus
Mad Hercules aka Hercules Furens (c. 54 A.D.) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Phaedra (c. 60 A.D.) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Thyestes (c. 60 A.D.) by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
The Little Clay Cart (Sixth Century A.D.?), attributed to King Shūdraka
The Miracle of Saint Nicholas and the Schoolboys (Twelfth Century) by Anonymous
The Miracle of Saint Nicholas and the Image (Twelfth Century) by Hilarius
Daniel (c. 1140 A.D.) by Hilarius
Abraham and Isaac (between1400-1425 A.D.) by Anonymous
David and Bathsheba (between 1450-1500 A.D.) by Anonymous
The Second Shepherds' Play (mid-Fifteenth Century) by The Wakefield Master
The Killing of Abel (latter half of the Fifteenth Century) by The Wakefield Master
The Mystery of the Redemption aka Ludus Coventriae (1468 A.D.) by Anonymous
Pierre Patelin aka Master Pierre Patelin (c. 1469 A.D.) by Anonymous
Orbecche (1541 A.D.) by Giovanni Battista Giraldi
Herod the Great (between 1554-1576 A.D.) by The Wakefield Master
Gammer Gurton's Needle (c. 1560 A.D.) by "Mr. S., Master of Art"
Gorboduc (1561 A.D.) by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville
The Life of Cambyses, King of Percia (c. 1561 A.D.) by Thomas Preston
The Three Ladies of London (1581) by Robert Wilson
Tamburlaine the Great (1587) by Christopher Marlowe
The Tragical history of Doctor Faustus (c. 1588) by Christopher Marlowe
The Jew of Malta (c. 1589) by Christopher Marlowe
The Spanish Tragedy (c. 1590) by Thomas Kyd
Edward the Second (c. 1592) by Christopher Marlowe
Arden of Faversham (1592) by Anonymous
The Tragedy of King Richard the Third (c. 1593) by William Shakespeare
Titus Andronicus (c. 1594) by William Shakespeare
The Life and Death of King John (c. 1596) by William Shakespeare
The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington (1598) and The Death of Robert, Earl of Huntington
(1598) by Anthony Munday
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (1599) by William Shakespeare
Antonia and Mellida (1599) and Antonio's Revenge (1600) by John Marston
Hamlet (c. 1600) by William Shakespeare
Appendix A: Lethal Poison
Appendix B: Early Trial Plays
Appendix C: Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O’Neill
Appendix D: Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Appendix E: A Yorkshire Tragedy by Anonymous
Appendix F: Cue for Passion by Elmer Rice
About the Author
A veteran stage director, theater professor, and mystery fiction reviewer fills a gap in criminous scholarship with a strong contender for Edgar Award recognition....Dialogue samples, quotations from contemporary reviews, anecdotes, and mentions of well-known cast members further enliven the entertainingly-written entries.
— Jon L. Breen; Mystery Scene Magazine, September 2008
This material is astonishingly complete and up to date....The author correctly describes this work as "a labor of love." It is also a fascinating document that deserves a place in any library with a sizable collection on theater.
— American Reference Books Annual, August 2008
The author gives thorough criticism for the benefit of theater students on why each work is noteworthy, and why the appeal of this genre endures.
— Book News, Inc.
For anyone with a serious interest in the stage and plays of detection, this is a priceless reference.
— Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
The sheer readability of his work exceeds that of many reference books.... Warmly recommended.
— Reference and User Services Quarterly
The plays selected by Kabatchnik...provide a wealth of material for lovers of theatre.
— Los Angeles Times, August 2008