What do you think?
Rate this book
A Woman Killed With Kindness
New Mermaids are modernized and fully-annotated editions of classic English plays. Each volume
The playtext, in modern spelling, edited to the highest bibliographical and textual standards
Textual notes recording significant changes to the copytext and variant readings
Glossing notes explaining obscure words and word-play
Critical, contextual and staging notes
Photographs of productions where applicable
A full introduction which provides a critical account of the play, the staging conventions of the time and recent stage history; discusses authorship, date, sources and the text; and gives guidance for further reading.
Edited and updated by leading scholars and printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, New Mermaids offer invaluable guidance for actor, student, and theatre-goer alike.
The playtext, in modern spelling, edited to the highest bibliographical and textual standards
Textual notes recording significant changes to the copytext and variant readings
Glossing notes explaining obscure words and word-play
Critical, contextual and staging notes
Photographs of productions where applicable
A full introduction which provides a critical account of the play, the staging conventions of the time and recent stage history; discusses authorship, date, sources and the text; and gives guidance for further reading.
Edited and updated by leading scholars and printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, New Mermaids offer invaluable guidance for actor, student, and theatre-goer alike.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1607
5 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Heywood
139 books12 followersThomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece A Woman Killed with Kindness, a domestic tragedy, which was first performed in 1603 at the Rose Theatre by the Worcester's Men company.
He was a prolific writer, claiming to have had "an entire hand or at least a maine finger in two hundred and twenty plays", although only a fraction of his work has survived.
He was a prolific writer, claiming to have had "an entire hand or at least a maine finger in two hundred and twenty plays", although only a fraction of his work has survived.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 28, 2025
I’m not quite sure what to make of this. The poetry is beautiful and unassuming. Heywood definitely had their own distinctive voice, and the play is worth reading if only for that. But none of the characters really come to life. And the final scenes, so clearly meant to be sickeningly sentimental, were, for me, only sickening...
I have a high tolerance for misogyny in literature, for the simple reason that misogyny was, for so many centuries—and is still today in so many places and ways—the norm. The air people breathed (or choked on). So long as the men and women in a work of art feel real—so long as it’s possible to see them, through and beyond the misogyny of their time or author—there remains then something for us to share, experience, learn from. Shakespeare virtually always passes this test. Heywood almost gets there, when his writing is at its best.
So much for the prosecution. To testify for the defense, I would like to call to the stand Dr. Esther Claudman Dunn, the Mary Augusta Jordon Professor of English at Smith College in 1932, when my edition of Eight Famous Elizabethan Plays was published. In the introduction to that volume, lying open in front of me now, Dunn says of A Woman Killed with Kindness, with characteristic art:
“The plot is sentimental and the characterization is undistinguished. But one reads it still: for now as then, though we think we are grown wondrous wise about the hidden springs of conduct, yet the surprises of life, the unexpected plunge into terror, the equally unexpected righting of the situation, the pathetically jumbled sequence of things still press on us. Nobody knew how to play upon this quality better than Heywood. Good character and plotting might go hang; he wanted only this poignant pattern of fluctuation in human moods which he elaborates, in this play, as if it were a theme in music. He tortures the wronged husband with the unfaithful lady’s lute which she has left behind at her banishment. As a symbol of lost harmony, it serves to lead out sorrow for a pretty exhibition. The husband sends it after the lady to reproach her and she breaks it against her coach’s wheel, to mark the discord of her broken life. Though its shoddy theatricality is clear to an analytic mood, the incident is effective in the theatre, for in life itself some deep sense of the pity of things might be called up by just such an obvious circumstance.”
I agree. And rest my case—leaving the verdict in the hands of the jury.
I have a high tolerance for misogyny in literature, for the simple reason that misogyny was, for so many centuries—and is still today in so many places and ways—the norm. The air people breathed (or choked on). So long as the men and women in a work of art feel real—so long as it’s possible to see them, through and beyond the misogyny of their time or author—there remains then something for us to share, experience, learn from. Shakespeare virtually always passes this test. Heywood almost gets there, when his writing is at its best.
So much for the prosecution. To testify for the defense, I would like to call to the stand Dr. Esther Claudman Dunn, the Mary Augusta Jordon Professor of English at Smith College in 1932, when my edition of Eight Famous Elizabethan Plays was published. In the introduction to that volume, lying open in front of me now, Dunn says of A Woman Killed with Kindness, with characteristic art:
“The plot is sentimental and the characterization is undistinguished. But one reads it still: for now as then, though we think we are grown wondrous wise about the hidden springs of conduct, yet the surprises of life, the unexpected plunge into terror, the equally unexpected righting of the situation, the pathetically jumbled sequence of things still press on us. Nobody knew how to play upon this quality better than Heywood. Good character and plotting might go hang; he wanted only this poignant pattern of fluctuation in human moods which he elaborates, in this play, as if it were a theme in music. He tortures the wronged husband with the unfaithful lady’s lute which she has left behind at her banishment. As a symbol of lost harmony, it serves to lead out sorrow for a pretty exhibition. The husband sends it after the lady to reproach her and she breaks it against her coach’s wheel, to mark the discord of her broken life. Though its shoddy theatricality is clear to an analytic mood, the incident is effective in the theatre, for in life itself some deep sense of the pity of things might be called up by just such an obvious circumstance.”
I agree. And rest my case—leaving the verdict in the hands of the jury.
October 25, 2011
I read this for my Renaissance tragedy module and I imagine it can either be taken as promoting or satirising the role of women and marriage as commodity. Both Anne and Susan are fairly typical, passive renaissance women, with Anne's husband painted as infinitely kind and generous. The play itself moves quite quickly and is short, so it wouldn't take long to read or watch and for me at least it's strength lies jn its ambiguous morality--are we meant to take it seriously?
January 30, 2025
3,5/5⭐️ Am ales să-i cresc nota deoarece, de când am terminat-o, mă gândesc zilnic la ea.❤️
October 15, 2024
A Woman Killed with Kindness - Read for class
A Woman Killed with Kindness by Thomas Heywood is one of those plays that sneaks up on you with its emotional weight. It’s a domestic tragedy that talks about what happens when things go horribly wrong inside the home.
The story revolves around John Frankford and his wife, Anne. Everything seems great in their marriage until Anne has an affair with John’s friend, Wendoll. Instead of going all "Shakespeare revenge tragedy" on her, John does something unexpected: he sends Anne away to live in isolation. At this, Anne is so overcome with guilt that she starves herself to death as a way to punish herself for her actions.
The title says it all: John’s "kindness" in punishing Anne without violence actually destroys her. It makes you think about how people deal with betrayal, guilt, and punishment in ways that are sometimes more harmful than outright revenge.
If you’re into stories that explore the messiness of marriage and morality, or if you like plays that make you question what justice really means, you should check this one out.
A Woman Killed with Kindness by Thomas Heywood is one of those plays that sneaks up on you with its emotional weight. It’s a domestic tragedy that talks about what happens when things go horribly wrong inside the home.
The story revolves around John Frankford and his wife, Anne. Everything seems great in their marriage until Anne has an affair with John’s friend, Wendoll. Instead of going all "Shakespeare revenge tragedy" on her, John does something unexpected: he sends Anne away to live in isolation. At this, Anne is so overcome with guilt that she starves herself to death as a way to punish herself for her actions.
The title says it all: John’s "kindness" in punishing Anne without violence actually destroys her. It makes you think about how people deal with betrayal, guilt, and punishment in ways that are sometimes more harmful than outright revenge.
If you’re into stories that explore the messiness of marriage and morality, or if you like plays that make you question what justice really means, you should check this one out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2020
And the schoolyear has begun! This is the first book I read for my renaissance tragedy class. *cracks knuckles* Fall semester, here we come!
As far as the book goes, I got two words for ya: DRAMA QUEENS. All the characters are drama queens. I guess actors could bring a lot of subtlety and substance to the story, but man it looks pretty funny on paper. Especially when Sir Francis is like, "Mwahaha I shall carry off the lady fair and enjoy making her miserable" and then catches a glimpse of her face and does a 180 to "I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio, if I achieve not this young modest girl!"
Heh.
Poor Susan, that's all I'm sayin'.
As far as the book goes, I got two words for ya: DRAMA QUEENS. All the characters are drama queens. I guess actors could bring a lot of subtlety and substance to the story, but man it looks pretty funny on paper. Especially when Sir Francis is like, "Mwahaha I shall carry off the lady fair and enjoy making her miserable" and then catches a glimpse of her face and does a 180 to "I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio, if I achieve not this young modest girl!"
Heh.
Poor Susan, that's all I'm sayin'.
March 10, 2025
This is the first Heywood play I’ve read, and honestly I think his work supersedes that of Jonson and very nearly Shakespeare, too. Although the plot wasn’t incredibly engaging, I thought it read really well for a seventeenth century text and I actually found the characters to be rather endearing — even the men! *collective gasp*
It’s definitely not a life-changing piece of literature, however it is a seventeenth century play written by a white man that I didn’t hate with a passion and consider throwing out the window, and I think that warrants some recognition. 👍
It’s definitely not a life-changing piece of literature, however it is a seventeenth century play written by a white man that I didn’t hate with a passion and consider throwing out the window, and I think that warrants some recognition. 👍
March 8, 2025
she should’ve just killed them, just saying
May 30, 2025
It’s one of my favourite plays for a reason but like did they really have to trade women like that??
January 1, 2017
Urgh. A play about my least favorite plot ever, a woman being ritualistically stripped of her dignity and status after an incidence of practically forced infidelity. Awesome. Not to mention Sir Charles's truly HEINOUS plan to literally sell his sister into a one-night-stand in order to clear his own fricking debts - which he incurred by MURDERING TWO PEOPLE - and then being cool with Susan's plan to KILL HERSELF before she could actually sleep with Sir Francis.
Look, pardon my French, but this play takes the cake.
Look, pardon my French, but this play takes the cake.
February 26, 2021
A brief review, trying to avoid spoilers.
It’s a very entertaining Renaissance domestic tragedy.
The servants of Nick (especially him!) and Jenkins appear to be comic relief to break dramatic tension. Nick’s refusal to join all the characters dying with Anne is hilarious.
Scene 8- The Card Game Scene is brilliant. It’s full of double-entendres referencing Anne and Wendoll’s affair. It’s cunning and amusing.
Heywood treats Anne and Frankford in disregard. The blame is unfairly placed on Anne, as the play focuses on women’s infidelity, suffering, and punishment. It asks how a husband should privately deal with domestic affairs at home during the Renaissance. I don’t think it provides an answer as Frankford’s way is, perhaps unsurprisingly, shown to not be ideal.
He explores the boundaries of marital punishment and moral weight at mercy, making this , at times, a disturbing text for modern times. It’s morals and didacticism have to be taken when it was first performed. Yet, even though I disagree with all of its sentiments, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this drama and each character was very interesting and unique.
Motifs are prevalent of blushing, sight (bring connections to Othello), and the lute. There’s also often associations with his contemporary, Shakespeare’s works. For Literature students, it would be interesting to compare the differences between Shakespeare’s and Heywood’s presentation of female infidelity.
It’s a very entertaining Renaissance domestic tragedy.
The servants of Nick (especially him!) and Jenkins appear to be comic relief to break dramatic tension. Nick’s refusal to join all the characters dying with Anne is hilarious.
Scene 8- The Card Game Scene is brilliant. It’s full of double-entendres referencing Anne and Wendoll’s affair. It’s cunning and amusing.
Heywood treats Anne and Frankford in disregard. The blame is unfairly placed on Anne, as the play focuses on women’s infidelity, suffering, and punishment. It asks how a husband should privately deal with domestic affairs at home during the Renaissance. I don’t think it provides an answer as Frankford’s way is, perhaps unsurprisingly, shown to not be ideal.
He explores the boundaries of marital punishment and moral weight at mercy, making this , at times, a disturbing text for modern times. It’s morals and didacticism have to be taken when it was first performed. Yet, even though I disagree with all of its sentiments, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this drama and each character was very interesting and unique.
Motifs are prevalent of blushing, sight (bring connections to Othello), and the lute. There’s also often associations with his contemporary, Shakespeare’s works. For Literature students, it would be interesting to compare the differences between Shakespeare’s and Heywood’s presentation of female infidelity.
August 20, 2023
A Woman Killed With Kindness is very definitely of its era. If you can get over the (extreme) patriarchy of the text, the last Act is really very moving: a woman who has made a massive mistake losing a husband who really still loves her, and everyone suffering as a result. Amor doesn't quite vincit omnia, but love IS forgiveness, I suppose, is the message of the play.
Within the play, there are a series of fantastically written scenes, with lines jumping out at you as often as in a good Shakespeare play, but the class expectations make the whole thing disjunctional: can we forget that Sir Charles, with whom we are supposed to sympathise, is a double murderer? Is threatening to have your sister raped really the best way to get her doter to propose proper marriage?
Why do we allow this sort of behaviour in Shakespeare plays, and say he is universal, whereas "minor" playwrights (I haven't read all of Heywood, but I've yet to read a truly bad one) are judged for their patriarchy?
So: gender, class, sexual attitudes. Can we see past these? if we do, this is a masterpiece. If not, this is merely a brilliantly written example of renaissance sexism.
Within the play, there are a series of fantastically written scenes, with lines jumping out at you as often as in a good Shakespeare play, but the class expectations make the whole thing disjunctional: can we forget that Sir Charles, with whom we are supposed to sympathise, is a double murderer? Is threatening to have your sister raped really the best way to get her doter to propose proper marriage?
Why do we allow this sort of behaviour in Shakespeare plays, and say he is universal, whereas "minor" playwrights (I haven't read all of Heywood, but I've yet to read a truly bad one) are judged for their patriarchy?
So: gender, class, sexual attitudes. Can we see past these? if we do, this is a masterpiece. If not, this is merely a brilliantly written example of renaissance sexism.
February 16, 2024
"that is the root from whence these strange things grow."
this was not something i was a huge fan of- i did enjoy it, but i have my qualms with it!
mainly, the portrayal of women. why does anne get punished with death for her affair (when she seemed pressured into it, and possibly didn't even want it in the first place!) but wendoll gets away with it, and can just run away and save himself? both anne and susan are characters that i feel get punished and offered as prizes, and get treated more as objects than people.
frankford irritates me, seemingly a character on a pedestal, a kind man, but is he really? is he? he only does things to personally benefit. and do not get me started on charles.
it's a play that i enjoy analysing from a literary point of view, but i don't enjoy it necessarily from an entertainment point of view. unlike most shakespearean tragedies, there is no comic subplot or comic relief character, making it harder to generally enjoy the play. it's good to analyse though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
this was not something i was a huge fan of- i did enjoy it, but i have my qualms with it!
mainly, the portrayal of women. why does anne get punished with death for her affair (when she seemed pressured into it, and possibly didn't even want it in the first place!) but wendoll gets away with it, and can just run away and save himself? both anne and susan are characters that i feel get punished and offered as prizes, and get treated more as objects than people.
frankford irritates me, seemingly a character on a pedestal, a kind man, but is he really? is he? he only does things to personally benefit. and do not get me started on charles.
it's a play that i enjoy analysing from a literary point of view, but i don't enjoy it necessarily from an entertainment point of view. unlike most shakespearean tragedies, there is no comic subplot or comic relief character, making it harder to generally enjoy the play. it's good to analyse though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
December 24, 2023
This play is basically Othello, only with real adultery, an absence of racial tension, and no murder.
It was really entertaining to read, even if it feels a little superficial in content. Mistress Frankford seems like the perfect wife on the surface, but she is tempted easily, which honestly makes her character feel a little disingenuous. Her husband’s actions follow Early Modern conduct literature to the letter, which again makes him feel a little fake. Then, we have Wendoll who apparently just disappears off the face of the earth at the end of the play, which conveniently makes everyone forget Mrs, Frankford’s transgressions. Again, why would a love-sick man just disappear? Feels fake.
I mean it is entertaining to read and easy to read, but, at the same time, it feels pretty shallow because of its poor character development.
4 stars.
It was really entertaining to read, even if it feels a little superficial in content. Mistress Frankford seems like the perfect wife on the surface, but she is tempted easily, which honestly makes her character feel a little disingenuous. Her husband’s actions follow Early Modern conduct literature to the letter, which again makes him feel a little fake. Then, we have Wendoll who apparently just disappears off the face of the earth at the end of the play, which conveniently makes everyone forget Mrs, Frankford’s transgressions. Again, why would a love-sick man just disappear? Feels fake.
I mean it is entertaining to read and easy to read, but, at the same time, it feels pretty shallow because of its poor character development.
4 stars.
March 2, 2022
The marriage of John Frankford, a middling country gentleman, and his wife Anne is comfortable, if uneventful, until he gives his friend Wendoll the free use of his table and purse. Wendoll takes even more than was offered, and confesses his desperate love to Anne, who takes pity on him, and they commit adultery. When they are discovered John banishes his wife to a distant manor, forbidding her to see their two children, and it is in the comfort of her exile that she will starve herself to death. In the subplot, a woman devoted to her brother is offered as payment for his debts.
Usually considered to be a domestic tragedy, A Woman Killed with Kindness is complex in its didacticism, as Heywood explores the boundaries of marital punishment, and the moral weight of mercy.
Usually considered to be a domestic tragedy, A Woman Killed with Kindness is complex in its didacticism, as Heywood explores the boundaries of marital punishment, and the moral weight of mercy.
February 1, 2025
'It was not I, but rage, did this vile muder:
Yet I, and not rage, must answer it'
I only began reading this play to supplement what I'm reading for school, and expected it to be dull and hard to understand, but it was actually surprisingly easy to get into, and easier to understand than I thought it would be. Compared to Shakespeare (whose cryptic-ness makes me hate him as much as I love him) reading this felt like watching Eastenders, just set in the 17th century. This tragedy was engaging and interesting, though soured a little by its sickening misogyny in parts (but hey, it was the 17th century, so misogyny is to be expected I suppose).
I would recommend reading if you're studying tragedy, though I believe it could still be found entertaining if read for enjoyment.
Yet I, and not rage, must answer it'
I only began reading this play to supplement what I'm reading for school, and expected it to be dull and hard to understand, but it was actually surprisingly easy to get into, and easier to understand than I thought it would be. Compared to Shakespeare (whose cryptic-ness makes me hate him as much as I love him) reading this felt like watching Eastenders, just set in the 17th century. This tragedy was engaging and interesting, though soured a little by its sickening misogyny in parts (but hey, it was the 17th century, so misogyny is to be expected I suppose).
I would recommend reading if you're studying tragedy, though I believe it could still be found entertaining if read for enjoyment.
February 26, 2024
This might be the first time I fully enjoyed reading a play. A sweet but tragic love story.
“Here lies she whom her husband’s kindness killed.”
“Rich in your love I never can be poor… All’s mine is yours; we are alike in state. Let’s knit in love what was opposed in hate.”
“My heart Was with you, and my mind was on you”
“And I am then undone. I care not, I. ‘Twas for your sake… I care not; ‘twas for you… I care not, I… For you I’ll hazard all. What care I? For you I’ll live, and in your love I’ll die.”
“I’ll live with thee, Or I’ll not live at all.”
“Being far from you, no comfort can be near.”
“Here lies she whom her husband’s kindness killed.”
“Rich in your love I never can be poor… All’s mine is yours; we are alike in state. Let’s knit in love what was opposed in hate.”
“My heart Was with you, and my mind was on you”
“And I am then undone. I care not, I. ‘Twas for your sake… I care not; ‘twas for you… I care not, I… For you I’ll hazard all. What care I? For you I’ll live, and in your love I’ll die.”
“I’ll live with thee, Or I’ll not live at all.”
“Being far from you, no comfort can be near.”
January 6, 2025
One of the most famous plays of the period, A Woman Killed By Kindness is an early example of the domestic tragedy which would become more frequent in the reign of King James.
The major plot deals with the marriage of Frankford and Anne and the latter’s adultery with Wendoll, while a minor plot deals with a feud between Anne’s brother Sir Francis Acton and another nobleman, Sir Charles Montford. The play investigates many social issues concerning marriage, honor, and revenge. This was a re-read for me and was in all four of my anthologies, Fraser, Kinney, Brooke and Paradise, and Works of the British Dramatists.
The major plot deals with the marriage of Frankford and Anne and the latter’s adultery with Wendoll, while a minor plot deals with a feud between Anne’s brother Sir Francis Acton and another nobleman, Sir Charles Montford. The play investigates many social issues concerning marriage, honor, and revenge. This was a re-read for me and was in all four of my anthologies, Fraser, Kinney, Brooke and Paradise, and Works of the British Dramatists.
November 21, 2017
Well, that was bloody depressing.
I tend to rate early modern texts by how easy it is to follow them - I'm switching things up here, because language/plotwise this was actually quite good. I was invested until Anne (for some unknown reason) cheats on her husband. And until Charles tried to sacrifice his sister (again for no real reason, his debts were already paid off). Anne starving herself to death also had no real purpose behind it - you've just gotten a free mansion, love, why bother about your horrible ex?
Meh.
I tend to rate early modern texts by how easy it is to follow them - I'm switching things up here, because language/plotwise this was actually quite good. I was invested until Anne (for some unknown reason) cheats on her husband. And until Charles tried to sacrifice his sister (again for no real reason, his debts were already paid off). Anne starving herself to death also had no real purpose behind it - you've just gotten a free mansion, love, why bother about your horrible ex?
Meh.
January 9, 2021
Another read for my Renaissance drama term, I like that it differed from other tragedies of the era in that there wasn’t the typical ‘bloody duel and pile-up of bodies’ at the end, however the characters were a little two dimensional, and the plot was rather slow moving and predictable. As with most pieces of Renaissance drama, the commodification and objectification of woman is pretty annoying. Still worth a read, for insight into domestic tragedies.
October 20, 2021
I really enjoyed this play, although it discussed common topics and themes of the early modern period, it had different responses and perspectives to these than in other plays that I have read from this period.
February 4, 2024
This was the easiest medieval ass text I've ever had to read, and it also genuinely entertaining
Up until Sir Francis wasn't murdered on the spot by Susan. Immediately a 0/10 when she married his crusty ass
Up until Sir Francis wasn't murdered on the spot by Susan. Immediately a 0/10 when she married his crusty ass
October 27, 2017
One of the plays from this class that I'd not read yet, and I really enjoyed it!!
Read for ENGL 4606: Marriage and Adultery in Early Modern England
Read for ENGL 4606: Marriage and Adultery in Early Modern England
March 26, 2018
Kind of ridiculous and the two plots did not merge well together, but they did compliment one another. Overall a great read but filled with some dated ideas on the way marriage and debts work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2018
Me ha dejado igual que Arden of Faversham.
No puedo con este tipo de obras pero me resulta muy curiosa la construcción del rol femenino a lo largo de la ficción de siglos.
No puedo con este tipo de obras pero me resulta muy curiosa la construcción del rol femenino a lo largo de la ficción de siglos.
Read
January 29, 2021Required reading - didn’t hate it!
Read
October 21, 2021Read for my English class, Studies in Drama: Shakespeare and the Poetics of Revenge.
November 4, 2021
2.5/5 Read for class
November 21, 2022
If your wife cheats on you, guilt her into killing herself. If a guy gets you imprisoned but then let's you out, give your sister to him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2024
JUSTICE FOR ANNE
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews