The Life and Death of King John

This history play, first printed in the 1623 Folio, treats the reign of King John of England. John holds the crown against the claim of his nephew Arthur, backed by France and by Arthur's mother Constance. The Bastard Faulconbridge, son of Richard Coeur de Lion, becomes John's blunt commentator and captain. Hubert is ordered to blind Arthur; the papal legate Pandulph interdicts the kingdom; nobles defect after Arthur's fate. The play is a chronicle of succession, invasion, and legitimacy, not a documentary of Magna Carta.

Series binding. Mottled grey slipcase.