The Lady of Pleasure
Lady of Pleasure, The
Author: James Shirley
First Performance: 1635, London
Published: 1637
Genre: Com. in 5 acts; blank verse
Setting: The Strand, London, 1630s.
Cast: 10m, 6f, extras
Sir Thomas Bornwell has been persuaded by his wife Aretina to sell his country estates and set up home in London. Here Aretina seems intent on spending her husband's fortune on fashion, flirtation, and gaming. Bornwell decides that he will also abandon thrift and pursue a beautiful young widow, Celestina, in the hope of shocking his wife into sensible behaviour. Far from reforming, however, Aretina induces her sober nephew Frederick to live extravagantly and plots to undermine Celestina's position in society. Celestina rises above the taunts of Aretina's sycophants, and is rescued from them by Bornwell. Aretina employs...
[The entire page is 320 words long]
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