Call for Editions: Fletcher400

In 2025, the Malone Society plans to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the death of John Fletcher by publishing an edition of the surviving manuscript of one of his plays. Two important manuscripts are as yet unpublished, The Elder Brother (British Library Egerton MS 1994, ff. 2r-29r) and Beggars’ Bush (Folger Shakespeare Library, MS J.b.5), and we invite proposals for editions of these manuscripts.

Detailed information about the dates, auspices, narratives and surviving texts of these plays can be found in Martin Wiggins in association with Catherine Richardson, British Drama 1533-1642: A Catalogue: Volume VI: 1609-1616 and Volume VII: 1617-1623 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015-16), numbers 1799 and 1866.

The manuscript of The Elder Brother is apparently a scribal transcript made for a private patron. Information about this manuscript can be found in Peter Beal’s Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450-1700 (scroll down for MS 1994).

The manuscript of Beggars’ Bush appears to be an unknown scribe’s transcript of a prompt book in the hand of the book-keeper to the King’s Men, Edward Knight. Images of this manuscript on the Folger’s Luna database can be found here.

Please consult our guidelines for prospective editors before preparing your proposal. We also recommend, as you work on it, that you consult a recent Malone Society edition of a manuscript play, such as Siobhan Keenan’s editions of The Emperor’s Favourite or The Twice Chang’d Friar. The deadline for proposals is 31 December 2018; they should be submitted to the Co-ordinating Editor, Dr Paul Dean, at pauldean505@btinternet.com, in the usual manner.