Volume IV of the
Collected Works of John Ford
is the first of two volumes in the series to contain his sole-authored plays. It contains three of his most celebrated plays:
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
(1622),
The Lovers' Melancholy
(1628), and
The Broken Heart
(1629), as well as the less well-known
The Queen
(1629). The volume opens with a general introduction to Ford's work as a sole author by Sir Brian Vickers and each play is given a detailed introduction emphasizing Ford's linguistic creativity and his effective use of the indoor private theatres. Authoritative old-spelling texts, freshly edited from the original quartos with full textual collations, are accompanied by a full commentary on all aspects of the plays, from archaic or obsolete words to classical allusions and historical references to people, places, and social customs.