Shakespeare, William | The Merry Wives of Windsor. From Shakespeare's Second Folio

Shakespeare, William

The Merry Wives of Windsor. London: Printed by Tho. Cotes, 1632

Folio (308 x 216 mm). 39-60pp. Expertly bound to style in paneled calf, covers tooled in blind, upper cover gilt lettered.

From Shakespeare's second folio.

The Merry Wives of Windsor follows Sir John Falstaff in his attempts to seduce Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford, the wives of two wealthy merchants, in order to gain access to their husbands' wealth. At the same time, three potential suitors vye for the hand of Anne Page, Mrs. Page's daughter. When the wives realize Falstaff sent the both of them identical love letters, they determine to deceive him themselves. Though initially jealous and enraged, Mr. Ford eventually joins the wives in their tricks, which culminate in one final humiliation to put an end to Falstaff's deceit.

(See lots 1146, 1147, 1149, and 1150.)

REFERENCE:

STC 22274a; Greg III:1113-1116; Jaggard 496; Pforzheimer 906; Wolf, Legacies of Genuis 36