The Fatal Contract: A French Tragedy

by William Hemings

"As it Was Acted with Great Applause by her Majesties Servants."

70 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1639

Reviews

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

total rip off of titus andronicus but i enjoyed it!! also my last ever text for my degree #goodbyeyork 😔

[Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the French court, Crotilda, avenging her own rape, disguises herself as an Ethiopian eunuch serving the villainous queen's machinations. Written in 1639. See a summary with quotations focusing on how the eunuch is described.

[Arani]

what the fuck did i just read

[Hollis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun play to read, it's very similar to Titus Andronicus mixed with Hamlet along with many more Shakespeare references. I enjoyed the mashup of Shakespearean devices along with many metacommentary fragments, making this a pretty forward thinking play in some ways. The main character's motivations are hard to place at the play's climax, but I didn't hesitate to forget the detail-questions, rather allowing the action + language to sweep me away.

[Izzy ✨🌷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

[trigger warning: sexual assault] why do all the women die? and why does the rapist get a proper burial at the end? I liked the play's use of letters, books, and poems as key plot tools. thought it was cool that marginalised characters, like Chrotilda and Aphelia, used them to mobilise themselves against the state. interesting, too, that the rebels are the ones who survive and gain land/wealth/status, marks an almost complete subversion of monarchy and state. other than that, I was upset.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

See I was enjoying this, and then I started realising why exactly it never gets performed anymore and. Er. Yeah