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The author was a pioneer in the field in which he is now an authority. He is not concerned with the drama or with acting. Instead he is interested in the physical conditions and stage conventions of the Elizabethan playhouse.... In bringing together his papers and studies into the present volume, Mr. Lawrence has striven especially to illustrate not only the rise and progress of the 'Platform stage, ' but also the degree to which its characteristics coalesced with and influenced the 'Picture stage.' 'It will be found, I think, that these studies embody full details of the evolution of the English theatre in its primary and secondary stages, or, in other words, from its inception in the inn-yards until the close of the seventeenth century. In them some attempt has been made to indicate what features were indigenous and what derivative.' Into the eleven separate papers that make up his volume, Mr. Lawrence has gathered a wide variety of information about the Elizabethan playhouse. -The Boston Transcript The essays are written with verve and bear the mark of diligent preparation. That they lead to rather few definite conclusions Is perhaps due more to the broad field they seek to cover than to any lack of critical acumen In the author. -The Dial The first article Is the best summary yet published of our information In regard to the stage conditions of the time. As regards the author's general views concerning the Elizabethan stage, one may say that he is altogether uninfluenced by recent writers who are inclined to claim for Elizabethan staging a larger element of pictorial illusion than was once thought possible, and who In other respects minimize to a certain extent the archaic features of the stage of the period. The volume is beautifully printed, and its value is enhanced by a series of admirable Illustrations. -The Nation Profoundly scholarly work. -The N. Y. Times This volume is packed with discovery. Their riches would furnish forth-they probably will furnish forth-the popular historian's book bazaar for the next ten years. Some day Mr. Lawrence will receive his due. -The Saturday Review

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