An Anthology of Elizabethan Prose Fiction

by Paul Salzman (Editor/Introduction)

This anthology contains five of the most important short works of Elizabethan prose fiction: George Gascoigne's The Adventures of Master F.J., John Lyly's Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, Robert Greene's Pandosto: The Triumph of Time, Thomas Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller, and Thomas Deloney's Jack of Newbury. Paul Salzman has modernized the texts for easier comprehension.

Contents:

The adventures of Master F.J. by George Gascoigne (1573)
Euphues : the anatomy of wit by John Lyly (1578)
Pandosto. The triumph of time by Robert Greene (1588)
The unfortunate traveller by Thomas Nashe (1594)
Jack of Newbury by Thomas Deloney (c. 1597)

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, 16th Century, Short Stories, Anthologies, Reference

450 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 1987

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love witty conversation, frustrated lovers, indecisive monologues, casual misogyny, and long lists of examples? Then these are the stories for you. It's certainly not an fast read, but it does have humor and academic interest.

The Adventures of Master F.J. (4): A witty “comedy of manners with a sting in its tail,” packed with lust, scandal, poetry, and an incredibly fascinating and disturbing take on rape.

Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (3): This story about love, society, and putting bros before hoes is interspersed with lists of maxims, examples from nature, messages to the reader, and other ramblings. The style is over the top (even for the period) in a way that is initially delightful but eventually exhausting.

Pandosto, The Triumph of Time (3): The basis for Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale. The two stories are similar in many respects, though several characters behave and fare worse in this original version.

The Unfortunate Traveler (2): A messy hodgepodge of stories featuring a string of largely unlikable characters that the protagonist (who is sometimes “unfortunate” but more often reckless and callous) encounters in his travels. It is also an excellent example of Renaissance anti-Semitism in its extremes.

Jack of Newbury (3.5): An illustration of how far a man can rise, and bring others with him, when he has a gift for management, one-liners, strategic alliances, and set pieces. We’re also treated to several stories of Chaucerian(ish) revenge; in one tale an Italian looking to cuckold his enemy beds with a pig instead, and in the most strange and disturbing tale, female servants tie up a man who owes them money and force him to drink and wear as blackface a mixture of water and dog feces. Never a dull moment with those weavers.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to get through, but important simply because it is one of the few examples of prose in a time period dominated (in England at least) by poetry and plays.

[Akemi]

Read George Gascoigne's The Adventures of Master FJ, Robert Greene's Pandosto, and Thomas Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

a letdown overall and non essential, as the two good (very good) works, euphues and the unfortunate traveler, are available easily elsewhere in better editions, the other works i didnt even bother finishing

[Wendy]

I read The Unfortunate Traveller by Thomas Nashe at uni, but have not returned to this book since.

[Lulu]

George Gascoigne's The Adventures of Master F.J., 1573
John Lyly's Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, 1578
Robert Greene's Pandosto: The Triumph of Time 1588
Thomas Deloney's Jack of Newbury. 1597

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Greene's Pandosto
Thomas Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller
Thomas Deloney's Jack of Newbury

[Stephanie]

I only read Jack of Newberry by Thomas Deloney.