Politics and Political Culture in the Court Masque / Early Modern Literature in History (PDF)

James Knowles is Professor of Renaissance Literature and Culture at Brunel University, UK. He has edited the entertainments and selected masques for the Cambridge Works of Ben Jonson.

“Knowles’s book is a rich, engaging, and deeply thorough study of the court masque and its potential for multifaceted and complicated readings of Jacobean culture … . For musicologists, this provides invaluable background and context for any musical study of the period. … Knowles’s impressive text and its problematization of masque culture is necessary and should serve as a useful starting point for any scholar interested in masques of the period.” (Samantha Bassler, NABMSA Reviews, 2018)





“This monograph is a remarkable achievement both for the originality of its approach to the study of the masque and for the breadth of scholarship that is required to meet the demands of that approach.” (Richard Allen Cave, Early Theatre, Vol. 19 (1), June, 2016)

“Politics and Political Culture in the Court Masque is a splendid achievement. It succeeds in bringing the reader closer to the people who once shaped masquing occasions. The book reveals fascinating glimpses of family ties and political loyalties. Knowles’s forte is his extensive knowledge of archives, which enables him to trace rare copies of masque texts and their provenance. … Masque booklets travelled widely within Britain and abroad; they were read by provincial gentlemen, academics, and antiquarians.” (Barbara Ravelhofer, Review of English Studies, Vol. 67, June, 2016)

“This interesting study explores the political culture of the Jacobean and Caroline masques and their relationship to the articulation of political criticism. … Knowles’s book will appeal to those interested in early modern English literature and culture. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” (C. S. Cox, Choice, Vol. 53 (8), April, 2016)