This book throws new light on the issue of the dramatist's religious orientation by dismissing sectarian and one-sided theories, tackling the problem from the angle of the variegated Elizabethan context recently uncovered by modern historians and theatre scholars. It is argued that faith was a quest rather than a quiet certainty for the playwright.

'Jean-Christophe Mayer's book...very welcome, as a well-written, responsible, refreshingly sane contrubtion to a debate where overstatement on both sides has been so prevalent and sometimes so damaging'. - Times Literary Supplement

'Mayer's quizzical approach makes this book rewardingly level-headed.' - Dr. Woods, Church Times

'... this book is historically insightful and convincingly demonstrates the hybrid nature of religion in Elizabethan society... Mayer's book is a useful tool for understanding the religiously infused political atmosphere in which Shakespeare lived.' - Katherine Wilkinson, Early Modern Literary Studies

'... thoroughly researched, fresh in approach, and readable.' - Paul Dean, English Studies

Autorentext
JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAYER is a Senior Research Fellow employed by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and is also a member of the Institute for Research on the Renaissance, the Neoclassical Age and the Enlightenment (IRCL) at Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier.

Inhalt
List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: Shakespeare's Hybrid Faith Theatre, Witchcraft and the Crisis of Faith in King Henry VI, Parts 1 and 2 Acting the Insubstantial in King Richard III Religious Conscience and the Struggle for the Succession in Richard II "So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith"- Religion, Propaganda and Dreams of National Unity in King John The Discovery of a "Popish Plot"? The Chamberlain's Men and the 1601 Essex Rising Revisiting the Reformation: Shakespeare and Fletcher's King Henry VIII Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index