The Twice-Chang'd Friar

The Twice-Chang’d Friar is one of four early seventeenth-century plays preserved in a manuscript miscellany in the library of the Newdigate family of Arbury Hall, Nuneaton (Arbury Hall MS A414). The play, which appears to have been written by family member and drama lover John Newdigate III, is thought to be unique to this manuscript. This edition makes the play available in print for the first time.

The Twice Chang’d Friar is an Italianate city comedy based on a tale from Boccaccio’s Decameron. It tells the story of Albert, a friar who seduces Lisetta, a beautiful Venetian merchant’s wife by persuading her that he is the incarnation of Cupid. Albert’s plot is eventually uncovered by Lisetta’s brothers, whom he escapes by disguising himself in a bear’s skin. The play is a fascinating example of an amateur manuscript drama, of interest to all scholars and students of early modern drama.