The Merchant of Venice

Written in the late 1590s, this comedy is set mainly in Venice and at Belmont. Bassanio borrows three thousand ducats from the Jewish moneylender Shylock so that he may court the heiress Portia; his friend Antonio, a merchant whose ships are at sea, signs a bond that names a pound of Antonio's flesh as forfeit. Portia's suitors must choose among three caskets. When Antonio's ventures fail, Shylock demands the penalty in court, and Portia, disguised as a lawyer, argues the case. A subplot follows Shylock's daughter Jessica, who elopes with Lorenzo. The play is a comedy of credit, law, and marriage, not a life of a historical merchant.

Series binding. Mottled grey slipcase.