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Double Falsehood: Third Series (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series) Paperback – May 1, 2010

by William Shakespeare (Author), Brean Hammond (Editor), Ann Thompson (Series Editor),
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
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On December 1727 an intriguing play called Double Falshood; Or, The Distrest Lovers was presented for production by Lewis Theobald, who had it published in January 1728 after a successful run at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. The title page to the published version claims that the play was 'Written Originally by W.SHAKESPEARE'.

Double Falsehood's plot is a version of the story of Cardenio found in Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605) as translated by Thomas Shelton, published in 1612 though in circulation earlier. Documentary records testify to the existence of a play, certainly performed in 1613, by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, probably entitled The History of Cardenio and presumed to have been lost. The audience in 1727 would certainly have recognised stage situations and dramatic structures and patterns reminiscent of those in Shakespeare's canonical plays as well as many linguistic echoes.

This intriguing complex textual and performance history is thoroughly explored and debated in this fully annotated edition, including the views of other major Shakespeare scholars. The illustrated introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the debates and opinions surrounding the play and the text is fully annotated with detailed commentary notes as in any Arden edition.

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  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The Arden Shakespeare
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    4.41 x 0.86 x 7.88 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    190343677X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1903436776
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The publication of Theobald's adaptation in the Arden Shakespeare series is to be welcomed. And even more exciting is news that ...The Royal Shakespeare Company is working on a conjectural production of the original.” ―Jonathan Bate, Daily Telegraph

“Hammond's analysis of the play seems to support Theobald's claims. Hammond says that in the work he finds the presence of three writers--Theobald, Shakespeare and John Fletcher...Hammond's claim is further bolstered when Arden Shakespeare, a highly regarded publisher of Shakespeare's works, publish[ed] an edition of the play edited by Hammond.” ―Christian Science Monitor

“Brean Hammond's lively introduction to his Arden edition of the play offers a thorough and judicious account of the relevant scholarship. His cautious conclusion is that Shakespeare had indeed collaborated with Fletcher on Cardenio and that vestiges of his handiwork remain in Double Falsehood....Hammond has made some notable discoveries...Brean Hammond's excellent edition, complete with six valuable appendices, is indispensable.” ―Times (of London) Literary Supplement

“Brilliant and unusual...the Bard's style and influence seemed irrefutable.” ―The Observer

“The prestigious Arden Shakespeare series has been making headlines...with the heavily annotated scholarly volumes [which] will include an unfamiliar title Double Falsehood...What is certain is that there are many more plays in which Shakespeare migh have had a hand.” ―The Scotsman

“For most of the three centuries since its debut, Double Falsehood has been ridiculed as a hoax or just disregarded. That changed when The Arden Shakespeare, one of the best regarded scholarly editions of Shakespeare's plays, published Double Falsehood, endorsing its credentials and making it available for the first time in 250 years.” ―The Times (of London)

“The play's ‘bardic provenance' has been given fresh credibility by publishers Arden, who have included it in a new series of Shakespeare's work. The publication of the play, which is bound to spark heated scholarly discussion, comes after a ten year mission to crack a literary mystery by Professor Brean Hammond, of Nottingham University.” ―Daily Mail

“The little-known 18th century play was propelled into the literary limelight...when it was claimed as a lost Shakespeare....Professor Brean Hammond will publish compelling new evidence that the play...is substantially based on a real Shakespeare play called Cardenio....The claim represents 10 years of literary detective work by Hammond.” ―The Guardian

“The Culture Top 10: What you must see, hear and read this month” ―Town and Country Magazine

About the Author

Brean Hammond is Professor of Modern English Literature at the University of Nottingham

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Arden Shakespeare; 3rd edition (May 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 190343677X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1903436776
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.41 x 0.86 x 7.88 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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Mr Theobald

Mr Theobald

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
36 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John Michael Albert
5.0 out of 5 stars engrossing discussion of the great-great grandson of Shakespeare's missing Cardenio
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2018
Verified Purchase
I'm totally hooked on the various Cambridge series (plural) on SKSPR plays--some focussed on different historical productions, some focussed on scholarship, etc. I couldn't find Double Falsehood in any Cambridge series (singular) so I took a chance on the Arden. Man! Totally satisfied. A great deal of critical material and historical notes. And the text is generously footnoted. Couldn't have been more pleased with this book.
4 people found this helpful
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LibSL
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2016
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Interesting find--a possible new play of Shakespeare's.
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StackedAktor
5.0 out of 5 stars half a dollar is better than no money at all
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015
It's just one man's opinion, but I do think there is some legit Shakespeare here, especially the first half of the play. Yes, it's watered down and edited a hundred years after the fact, but the seed is buried here.

To me, half a dollar is better than no money at all. Well worth checking out!

PS- the story itself is very intriguing: echoes of Comedy of Errors abound. It held my interest all the way to the end.
4 people found this helpful
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James M. Rawley
4.0 out of 5 stars Good play, excellent edition
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2011
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This is a good play that had a successful run at Drury Lane in 1728. In the following passage, the hero comments on his mistress's coolness toward him:

I do not see that fervour in the maid
Which youth and love should kindle. She consents,
As 'twere, to feed without an appetite;
Tells me she is content and plays the coy one,
Like those that subtly make their words their ward,
Keeping address at distance. This affection
Is such a feign'd one as will break untouched;
Die frosty ere it can be thawed; while mine,
Like to a clime beneath Hyperion's eye,
Burns with one constant heat.

If you like that, you'll probably like the show. Other reviewers have said the play is plainly not Shakespeare's. That's true. The theory is that Shakespeare and Fletcher did a play together, Fletcher doing most of the work, as in their other collaborations, THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN and HENRY VIII. Later, that play was rewritten by Theobald, as he himself said. An excellent introduction of more than 100 pages lays out the whole theory and resulting modern controversy.

In other words, this play is an interesting find. It has become popular recently because many lines in it may be rewritten -- or even, possibly, untouched -- Shakespeare. But it's a good play in any case. Reviewers who say it's not are, I think, overly disappointed in its not seeming more Shakespearean than it does. Theobald, who did the rewrite, is one of England's first Shakespeare scholars, arguably the very first to take a modern approach to Shakespeare editing. That sound like reading a play by him would be fun, too. And it is.

Here's another passage. The hero's girl friend has said he should stop courting her, because his own father might not like her, and so be against her marrying his son. He replies,

O do not rack me with these ill-placed doubts,
Nor think though age has in my father's breast
Put out love's flame, he therefore has not eyes,
Or is in judgement blind. You wrong your beauties.
Venus will frown if you disprize her gifts
That have a face would make a frozen hermit
Leap from his cell and burn his beads to kiss it,
Eyes, that are nothing but continual births
Of new desires in those that view their beams.
You cannot have a cause to doubt.

The notes on this passage go thoroughly into how much seems to come from 1728 and how much resembles some of Shakespeare's phrasing. It's a game anyone can play and no one can win, but in any case the passage, I think, is charming.

I like the idea of reading a good, successful play from 1728 with four notes a page covering, among other things, how many passages might be rewritten Shakespeare or rewritten Fletcher, and how many are 1728 business as usual. I'm puzzled at anyone who would give such a pleasant read one star because it appears in the Arden Shakespeare. It's good stuff no matter where it appears.
20 people found this helpful
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Aunt Debbie M
5.0 out of 5 stars Half of this play was written by the Bard
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015
Never wise to be hasty in passing judgment... it appears that research shows a significant portion of this play was indeed written by Shakespeare (the Earl of Oxford of course, but that's another matter all together). Here's the recent finding about Double Falsehood:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/10/entertainment/shakespeare-play-double-falsehood-feat/index.html
2 people found this helpful
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Maria Ashot
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not Shakespeare
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2016
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I don't for a minute believe this was actually written by the same Shakespeare who wrote the famous plays. I read it carefully, all the way through, including the critical materials. It just doesn't hold up in terms of language, quality of imagery, plot... This was perhaps a popular potboiler in its heyday, but Shakespeare? Not a chance.
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PhilW
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015
Here's Sky News on the modern professional première
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_wIzMdxhqY
2 people found this helpful
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Andy Solomon
1.0 out of 5 stars like me, need to know this book and the ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015
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All Shakespearean scholars, like me, need to know this book and the arguments concerning its authorship. No one else need bother.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Douglas W Koschel
5.0 out of 5 stars Double Falsehood.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
As an aficionado of Shakespeare myself, it would be nice to think that he wrote this. It meets all the known criteria for a Shakespeare creation and is a handy and interesting addition to the Compleat Works of Shakespeare.
One person found this helpful
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@mfferreiro
5.0 out of 5 stars Más que una obra, un grandísimo estudio
Reviewed in Spain on February 14, 2013
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Un libro que contiene no solo la obra teatral de Lewis Theobald (maravillosamente editada con múltiples notas al pie) sino un completísimo estudio previo de más de ciento cincuenta páginas sobre todo el enigma acerca de "Double Falsehood" (si es en realidad, o no, una adaptación de la recreación shakesperiana del Cardenio de Cervantes) seguido de otro concreto sobre el texto y su representación. Al final se añaden también varios apéndices:
- Lewis Theobald and Alexander Pope
- 'Pidding Tibbald' and Theobald's name
- 'None but Itself can be its Parallel'
- Scene plan for "Double Falsehood"
- Music in "Double Falsehood"
- "Don Quixote": Excerpts from Thomas Shelton's translation.
En resumen, un lujo de edición.
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M. WALSH
5.0 out of 5 stars A lost play by Shakespeare?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2010
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A superb scholarly edition of Theobald's version of what may well be a lost part-Shakespearean original. Hammond makes a balanced, powerful and readable case. Excellent apparatus.
8 people found this helpful
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the antiquary
3.0 out of 5 stars Alackaday
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2010
Verified Purchase
Blast, how slow am I to have quickly fallen for a 300 year old fraud? Like my namesake  The Antiquary  a ready dupe for any charlatan with a piece of muddy broken pottery and tales of auld lang syne.

The best hope that is reached for is that Double Falsehood is a 'ghost' of the lost Cardenio by Shakespeare and Fletcher (also see the 'found'  Cardenio or the Second Maiden's Tragedy , rejected as false). For ghost read rip-off, forgery, (in)famous and typical 18th century meddling.

Double Falsehood, apart from sounding like a Shakespearean Bond film, and aptly named now with this revival, is such an obvious early 18th century guess of what this Shakespearean play might have been that surely no-one who actually reads it can be fooled.

Three stars stolen from me for being an interesting curiosity - but it won't be shaming the same shelf as my facsimile of the first folio. Minus 5 stars and curses to 21st century academics, who in their pseudo-scientific socio-historical-linguistics only take us further away from history and art. To Brean Hammond, out of whose interest in Pope and his enemy Theobald, rather than Shakespeare, this work seems to have sprung: 'Thy sin's not accidental but a trade'. And boils to publisher and media for getting my hopes up and failing miserably to justify the headlines.

Somebody please send for an aged philologist to flay this corpse.
24 people found this helpful
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