An Old-Spelling, Critical Edition of The History of the Two Maids of More-Clacke

First published in 1979, this volume is an old-spelling, critical edition of a comedy by Robert Armin, written between 1598 and 1606, a period spanning his employment as a comic actor in Shakespeare’s company. Had all his writings been among the many of his period which disappeared, we should not be crucially deprived. Nonetheless, Alexander S. Liddie suggests that Armin’s life and work deserve a niche in our understanding of the literary, theatrical and social scene of Shakespearian England. Armin’s talent, though limited, was varied, and he was one of only a few playwrights of his era who combined the creative function with the mimetic art. While the style of The Two Maids of More-clacke is admittedly garbled and rarely lucid, its plot incredibly labyrinthian and its characterisations vague, these elements also serve as vehicles for an extended criticism-by-parody of Shakespeare’s major tragedies, particularly Hamlet. All those interested in Shakespeare must be curious to assess this popular entertainer’s response to the great dramatist.