The Jew of Malta

Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price

Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta is a drama of religious conflict, intrigue, and revenge, set on the island of Malta and taking place against a backdrop of the struggle for supremacy between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean.

The payments made by Malta to the Turks have fallen in arrears, and the Governor decrees that the entire sum should be paid by the Jews, or they will be forced to accept Christianity. When Barabas objects to this, his goods are seized and his house converted into a nunnery. Barabas embarks on an elaborate plan of revenge, but events do not go entirely his way...

This edition of The Jew of Malta, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is edited and introduced by Peter J. Smith.