PENGUIN CLASSICS VOLPONE AND OTHER PLAYS

The three plays collected in this volume depict the faults, errors, and foibles of ordinary people with exuberant humour, savage satire, and acute observations. Volpone portrays a rich Venetian who pretends to be dying so that his despised acquantances will flock to his bedside with extravagant gifts in hope of an inheritance. The Alchemist also deals with greed and gullibility, as a rascally trio of confidence tricksters fool a series of victims who are hoping to make some easy money. And in Bartholomew Fair, a diverse group of Londoners sample the delights and temptations of the fair—and the traders and prostitutes and cutpurses who set out to exploit them.