The White Devil (Annotated‪)‬

The White Devil is a revenge tragedy by European playwright John Webster (1580–1634). According to Webster's own preface to the 1612 Quarto Edition, the play's first performance in that year was a notorious failure; he complained that the play was acted in the dead of winter before an unreceptive audience. The play's complexity, sophistication, and satire made it a poor fit with the repertory of Queen Anne's Men at the Red Bull Theatre, where it was first performed. It was successfully revived in 1630 by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre and published again in 1631.


This edition has been formatted for your reader, with an active table of contents.  The play has also been annotated, with additional information about the work itself and also about John Webster, including an overview, basis, characters, plot, historical staging, production, and biographical information.