The Tragedy of Mariam, the Fair Queen of Jewry: With the Lady Falkland: Her Life, by One of Her Daughters

An interesting read, taking place in roughly the same time as Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Not quite as engaging as the latter author, but worthy of investigation nevertheless.

The particular importance of this book lies in the fact that it is the first edition to include the Tragedy of Mariam into its biographical context, by publishing the text with Elizabeth's Cary's biography written by one of her daughter. The editors include a very thorough introduction in which they strongly claim the richness and greatness of the text, not only because it is the first play ever written by an English woman, but also because of its investigation of paramount issues such as gender, politics, and race. In addition to this, the editors include an appendix where they give the readers a chance to know about the original source that Cary might have used in her play.