The Merry Devil of Edmonton: A Retelling
By David Bruce
()
About this ebook
This is an easy-to-read retelling of THE MERRY DEVIL OF EDMONTON, a popular anonymous comedy of the Elizabethan era. At one time, William Shakespeare was believed to have written the play. in this play, Peter Fabell, a magician known as the Merry Devil of Edmonton, helps a young man and a young woman to marry despite the opposition of their parents. This play has a happy ending.
David Bruce
I would like to see my retellings of classic literature used in schools, so I give permission to the country of Finland (and all other countries) to give copies of my eBooks to all students and citizens forever. I also give permission to the state of Texas (and all other states) to give copies of my eBooks to all students forever. I also give permission to all teachers to give copies of my eBooks to all students forever.Teachers need not actually teach my retellings. Teachers are welcome to give students copies of my eBooks as background material. For example, if they are teaching Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” teachers are welcome to give students copies of my “Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’: A Retelling in Prose” and tell students, “Here’s another ancient epic you may want to read in your spare time.”Do you know a language other than English? I give you permission to translate any of my retellings of classic literature, copyright your translation in your name, publish or self-publish your translation (but do say it's a translation of something I wrote), and keep all the royalties for yourself.Libraries, download my books free. This is from Smashwords' FAQ section:"Does Smashwords distribute to libraries?"Yes! We have two methods of distributing to libraries: 1. Via library aggregators. Library aggregators, such as OverDrive and Baker & Taylor's Axis360 service, allow libraries to purchase books. Smashwords is working with multiple library aggregators, and is in the process of signing up additional aggregators. 2. On August 7, 2012, Smashwords announced Library Direct. This distribution option allows libraries and library networks to acquire and host Smashwords ebooks on their own servers. This option is only available to libraries who place large "opening collection" orders, typically in the range of $20,000-$50,000, and the libraries must have the ability to host and manage the books, and apply industry-standard DRM to manage one-checkout-at-a-time borrows."David Bruce is a retired anecdote columnist at "The Athens News" in Athens, Ohio. He has also retired from teaching English and philosophy at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.SOME BOOKS BY DAVID BRUCERetellings of a Classic Work of Literature:Arden of Favorsham: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Alchemist: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Arraignment, or Poetaster: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Case is Altered: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Catiline’s Conspiracy: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Epicene: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Every Man in His Humor: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Every Man Out of His Humor: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Fountain of Self-Love, or Cynthia’s Revels: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Magnetic Lady: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The New Inn: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Sejanus' Fall: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Staple of News: A RetellingBen Jonson’s A Tale of a Tub: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Complete Plays: RetellingsChristopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus: Retellings of the 1604 A-Text and of the 1616 B-TextChristopher Marlowe’s Edward II: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s The Rich Jew of Malta: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2: RetellingsDante’s Divine Comedy: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Inferno: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Purgatory: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Paradise: A Retelling in ProseThe Famous Victories of Henry V: A RetellingFrom the Iliad to the Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose of Quintus of Smyrna’s PosthomericaGeorge Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston’s Eastward Ho! A RetellingGeorge Peele: Five Plays Retold in Modern EnglishGeorge Peele’s The Arraignment of Paris: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s The Battle of Alcazar: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s David and Bathsheba, and the Tragedy of Absalom: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s Edward I: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s The Old Wives’ Tale: A RetellingGeorge-A-Greene, The Pinner of Wakefield: A RetellingThe History of King Leir: A RetellingHomer’s Iliad: A Retelling in ProseHomer’s Odyssey: A Retelling in ProseJason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ ArgonauticaThe Jests of George Peele: A RetellingJohn Ford: Eight Plays Translated into Modern EnglishJohn Ford’s The Broken Heart: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Fancies, Chaste and Noble: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Lady’s Trial: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Lover’s Melancholy: A RetellingJohn Ford’s Love’s Sacrifice: A RetellingJohn Ford’s Perkin Warbeck: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Queen: A RetellingJohn Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Campaspe: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Endymion, the Man in the Moon: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Gallathea, aka Galathea, aka Galatea: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Midas: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Mother Bombie: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Sappho and Phao: A RetellingJohn Lyly's The Woman in the Moon: A RetellingJohn Webster’s The White Devil: A RetellingJ.W. Gent.'s The Valiant Scot: A RetellingKing Edward III: A RetellingMankind: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)Margaret Cavendish's The Unnatural Tragedy: A RetellingThe Merry Devil of Edmonton: A RetellingRobert Greene’s Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay: A RetellingThe Taming of a Shrew: A RetellingTarlton’s Jests: A RetellingThomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s The Roaring Girl: A RetellingThomas Middleton and William Rowley’s The Changeling: A RetellingThomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside: A RetellingThomas Middleton's Women Beware Women: A RetellingThe Trojan War and Its Aftermath: Four Ancient Epic PoemsVirgil’s Aeneid: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 5 Late Romances: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 10 Histories: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 11 Tragedies: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 12 Comedies: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 1: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 2 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 2: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 1: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 2 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 2: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 3 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 3: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Coriolanus: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Cymbeline: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Hamlet: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Henry V: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s King John: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s King Lear: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Othello: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Richard II: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Richard III: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Two Noble Kinsmen: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: A Retelling in ProseChildren’s Biography:Nadia Comaneci: Perfect TenAnecdote Collections:250 Anecdotes About Music250 Anecdotes About Opera250 Anecdotes About Religion250 Anecdotes About Religion: Volume 2Be a Work of Art: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesThe Coolest People in Art: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in the Arts: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in Books: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in Comedy: 250 AnecdotesCreate, Then Take a Break: 250 AnecdotesDon’t Fear the Reaper: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Art: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Comedy: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Dance: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 4: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 5: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 6: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Movies: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Neighborhoods: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Relationships: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Sports: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Sports, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Theater: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People Who Live Life: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesMaximum Cool: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Religion: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Sports: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People Who Live Life: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesReality is Fabulous: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesResist Psychic Death: 250 AnecdotesSeize the Day: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesKindest People Series:The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 2The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 3Discussion Guide Series:Dante’s Inferno: A Discussion GuideDante’s Paradise: A Discussion GuideDante’s Purgatory: A Discussion GuideForrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree: A Discussion GuideHomer’s Iliad: A Discussion GuideHomer’s Odyssey: A Discussion GuideJane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Discussion GuideJerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee: A Discussion GuideJerry Spinelli’s Stargirl: A Discussion GuideJonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”: A Discussion GuideLloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron: A Discussion GuideLloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper: A Discussion GuideNancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind: A Discussion GuideNicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember: A Discussion GuideVirgil’s Aeneid: A Discussion GuideVirgil’s “The Fall of Troy”: A Discussion GuideVoltaire’s Candide: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Discussion GuideWilliam Sleator’s Oddballs: A Discussion GuideComposition Projects:Composition Project: Writing an Autobiographical EssayComposition Project: Writing a Hero-of-Human-Rights EssayComposition Project: Writing a Problem-Solving LetterTeaching:How to Teach the Autobiographical Essay Composition Project in 9 ClassesAutobiography (of sorts):My Life and Hard Times, or Down and Out in Athens, OhioMiscellaneous:Mark Twain Anecdotes and QuotesProblem-Solving 101: Can You Solve the Problem?Why I Support Same-Sex Civil MarriageBlogs:https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.comhttps://davidbrucebooks.blogspot.comhttps://davidbruceblog4.wordpress.comhttps://bruceb22.wixsite.com/website
Read more from David Bruce
Nadia Comaneci: Perfect 10 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dante's "Divine Comedy": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Problem-Solving 101: Can You Solve the Problem? Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5250 Music Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirgil's "Aeneid": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDante's "Inferno": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet": A Discussion Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5William Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJerry Spinelli's "Stargirl": A Discussion Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nicholas Sparks' "A Walk to Remember": A Discussion Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lois Lowry's "Number the Stars": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCupcakes Are Not a Diet Food Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Homer's "Iliad": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Funniest People in Comedy: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5William Shakespeare's "Macbeth": A Discussion Guide Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coolest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHomer's "Iliad": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Funniest People in Relationships: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Manage Your Money: A Guide for the Non-Rich Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Homer's "Odyssey": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coolest People in the Arts: 250 Anecdotes and Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain Anecdotes and Quotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings250 Anecdotes About Opera Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coolest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Funniest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Merry Devil of Edmonton
Related ebooks
The Celtic Twilight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essential W. B. Yeats Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Merry Devill of Edmonton Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCeltic Twilight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Merry Devill of Edmonton Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Celtic Twilight: “Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry.” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Merry Devil of Edmonton, Shakespeare Apocrypha Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBehind the Dark Veil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMad Shepherds and Other Human Studies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats, Vol. 5 (of 8) / The Celtic Twilight and Stories of Red Hanrahan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPalatine: Heir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Human Chord Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Epic Literary Universe Series - Books 3-4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTransit to Scorpio [Dray Prescot #1] Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Celtic Twilight Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arachne — Volume 07 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Count of Narbonne: A Tragedy, in Five Acts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Young Lovell by Ford Madox Ford - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho I Was Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRevenge: The Tube Riders, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSebastian: Or, Ruling Passions Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On (Essays Collection): On Nothing and Kindred Subjects, On Everything, On Anything, On Something, On Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Top 10 Short Stories - British Gothic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine — Volume 09 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHavoc Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuaint Gleanings from Ancient Poetry A Collection of Curious Poetical Compositions of the XVIth, XVIIth, and XVIIIth Centuries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCount Edweird Lefang’S Rhymin’ Halloween Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of William Blake Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of a Sawdust Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Fantasy For You
The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tress of the Emerald Sea: Secret Projects, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hell House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Desert: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wizard's First Rule Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of the Forest: Book One of the Sevenwaters Trilogy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Empire: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eyes of the Dragon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don Quixote: [Complete & Illustrated] Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piranesi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Merry Devil of Edmonton
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Merry Devil of Edmonton - David Bruce
The Merry Devil of Edmonton:
A Retelling
By David Bruce
Copyright 2019 by Bruce D. Bruce
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Cover Photograph
https://pixabay.com/photos/costume-screaming-demon-devil-evil-15816/
SMASHWORDS BOOKSTORE
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bruceb
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Male Characters
Sir Arthur Clare
Sir Richard Mounchensey
Sir Ralph Jerningham
Harry Clare, a young man who is Sir Arthur’s son
Raymond Mounchensey, a young man who is Sir Richard’s son
Frank Jerningham, a young man who is Sir Ralph’s son
Peter Fabell, a conjuror who is known as the Merry Devil of Edmonton
Coreb, a Spirit from Hell
Blague, the Host of the Saint George Inn. The French word "blague" means a man who jokes a lot
Sir John, a Priest of Enfield
Banks, the Miller of Waltham
Smug, the Blacksmith of Edmonton
Sexton
Bilbo, Servant to Sir Arthur Clare
Brian, Keeper (Gamekeeper) of the Forest
Ralph, Brian’s assistant
Friar Hildersham
Benedick, Hildersham’s novice
Chamberlain of the White Horse Inn
Chamberlain of the Saint George Inn, who speaks off-stage
Female Characters
Lady Dorcas Clare, Sir Arthur’s wife
Millicent Clare, Lady Dorcas’ and Sir Arthur’s Daughter
The Prioress of Cheston Nunnery
Minor Characters
Nuns and Attendants
Bowman, Brian the gamekeeper’s hound
NOTES
At the time this play was written, Edmonton was a small village near London in the county of Middlesex. Today, Edmonton is a northern suburb of London.
Peter Fabell, the Merry Devil of Edmonton, was reputed to have made a contract with a spirit to obey him for a certain time, after which he would deliver his soul and body to the devil.
In this culture, a man of higher rank would use words such as thee,
thy,
thine,
and thou
to refer to a servant. However, two close friends or a husband and wife could properly use thee,
thy,
thine,
and thou
to refer to each other.
The word sirrah
is a term usually used to address a man of lower social rank than the speaker. This was socially acceptable, but sometimes the speaker would use the word as an insult when speaking to a man whom he did not usually call sirrah.
Close friends, whether male or female, could also call each other sirrah.
The word wench
was often used affectionately.
A purse is used to carry money. Men carried what they called a purse: It hung by strings inside their clothing. Cutpurses were thieves who cut the strings of a purse so they could steal the purse and its contents.
Millicent Clare and Raymond Mounchensey are in love and wish to marry each other; however, Raymond’s father is said to have run into financial difficulties and so Millicent’s parents want her to marry Frank Jerningham, whose father has wealth. Peter Fabell, the Merry Devil of Edmonton, decides to help Millicent and Raymond.
A walk is a part of the forest a gamekeeper is supposed to look after. The walk in this book is one of the habitats of the King’s deer; this walk is named Enfield Chase. A chase is a hunting ground. Poaching was strictly forbidden there.
Cheston Nunnery is also known as Cheston House.
An induction
is an introduction.
THE PROLOGUE
An actor comes out on the stage of the Globe Theater in London and says this to the audience:
"Give us your silence and attention, worthy friends, so that your free spirits may with more pleasing sense relish the life of this our active scene!
"For that purpose, to calm this murmuring breath of conversation from you, the members of the audience, we ring this theater in the round and our conjuror’s round circle with our invoking spells.
"If it is the case that your listening ears are yet to be prepared to entertain the subject of our play, then lend us your patience!
"It is Peter Fabell, a renowned scholar, whose fame has still been hitherto forgotten by all the writers of this latter age — in Middlesex he had his birth and his abode, not even seven miles from this great famous city of London — who, because of the fame he won with his sleights and magic, was called the merry Fiend of Edmonton.
"If any here doubt such a name, in Edmonton yet fresh to this day, fixed in the wall of that old ancient church, his funerary monument can still be seen.
"His memory is also yet in the mouths of men, who say that while he lived he could deceive the devil.
Imagine now that he has retired from Cambridge back to his native home. Suppose that the silent, sable-visaged night casts her black curtain over all the world, and while he sleeps within his silent bed, toiled with the studies of the passed day, the very time and hour wherein that spirit that for many years obeyed his commands, and often between Cambridge and that town had in a minute borne him through the air, by a contract between the fiend and him, comes now to claim the scholar for his due.
The actor drew some curtains, revealing Peter Fabell, the Merry Devil of Edmonton, in his chamber.
The actor continued:
"Behold him here, lying restless on his couch, his fatal chime prepared at his head, his chamber guarded with these sable symbols, and by him stands that necromantic — magic — chair, in which he makes his direful invocations of the spirit, and binds the fiends that shall obey his will.
Sit with a pleased eye, until you know the comic end of our sad tragic show.
The actor exited.
INDUCTION
The chime sounded, and the conjuror Peter Fabell stared around the chamber and held up his hands. He seemed frightened.
What means the tolling of this ominous chime?
Peter Fabell said. Oh, what a trembling horror strikes my heart! My stiffened hair stands upright on my head, as do the bristles of a porcupine.
Coreb, a horrible Spirit from Hell, entered the chamber.
Fabell, awake!
Coreb said. Now I will bear thee away from here headlong to Hell.
Ah,
Peter Fabell said. Why do thou wake me? Coreb, is it thou?
It is I,
Coreb answered.
I know thee well,
Peter Fabell said. I hear the watchful dogs with hollow howling tell of thy approach. The lights burn dim, frightened by thy presence, and this distempered, unruly, and tempestuous night tells me that the air is troubled with some devil.
Come, are thou ready?
Coreb asked.
To go where?
Peter Fabell asked. Or to what?
Why, Scholar, this is the hour that my time of servitude to thee expires. I must depart, and I have come to claim my due.
Ah,
Peter Fabell said. What is thy due?
Fabell, my due is thyself!
"Oh, let not darkness hear thee speak that word, lest with force it will hurry from here at once, and allow the world to look upon my woe.
Yet overwhelm me with this globe of earth, and let a little sparrow with her bill take away just as much as she can bear away, so that, every day thus losing of my load, I may again in time yet hope to rise.
The entry to Hell in Dante’s Inferno has a sign: ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.
Peter Fabell was asking to be allowed to hope: Put the entire globe that is the Earth on his shoulders — such a weight would force him to stoop. But allow a little sparrow to take away each day as much earth as she can carry in her bill. This would give him hope that one day — many millennia later — he would be freed of his load and be able to rise.
He wanted to hope that one day he could rise and leave Hell.
Coreb asked, Didn’t thou write thy name in thine own blood, and didn’t thou draw up the formal deed between thee and me, and isn’t it recorded now in Hell?
Why have thou come to me in this stern and horrid shape, and not in the familiar and friendly shape that thou were accustomed to come to me?
Peter Fabell asked.
Conjurors often ask devils to assume