Table of Contents

Reconsiderations; monarchy and the theatre; historical transformations - fractured icons I; historical transformations -fractured icons II; " decir sin decir" - patterns of communications; the politics of tragedy - absolutism and reason of state; political antinomies - rebels within the system; conclusions. List of works consulted.

Reviews

A milestone in Lope studies.
*MLR*

A very important, indeed a necessary book.
*BULLETIN OF SPANISH STUDIES*

Will be an indispensable guide.
*CALIOPE*

Providing detail that is finely woven and rich in texture, McKendrick shows how Lope's court and popular theatre reveal his ambivalence toward the contemporary conduct of royal life... intelligently written, nuanced discussion...should be in every library supporting study of Spanish literature at the upper-division undergraduate level and above.
*CHOICE*

Excellent... sophisticated and convincing study: Lope de Vega's intricate and sometimes ambiguous dialogue with Spanish history provides one of the most eloquent commentaries on the moral and political complexity of his age.
*TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT [B W Ife]*

A study of major importance, not simply for all who work on the comedia, but also for those concerned with the broader question of the relation between literature and society in Golden Age Spain.... As a study of Lope this book succeeds magnificently...[and] will become a standard work in discussions of the complex relationship between societyand literature in early modern Spain.
*BULLETIN OF HISPANIC STUDIES*