The son of a wealthy coach-maker, John Webster grew up in the city of London. He studied law at the Inns of Court, but soon became involved in writing for the theatre as a collaborative author. Then, in 1612, Webster produced the first of the two great tragedies for which he is best known today,
The White Devil; his most famous play,
TheDuchess of Malfi, followed a year or so later.
The White Devil was probably first performed between January and March 1612 by the Queens” Men, most likely at their main theatre, the Red Bull. Webster’s tragedy was a departure from the playhouse’s normal repertoire, and seems to have been a failure in performance: the preface to the first edition of the play, also published in 1612, describes how it originally lacked “a full and understanding
1812 words
Citation: Preedy, Chloe Kathleen. "The White Devil". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 April 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8141, accessed 26 November 2024.]
