The Fair Maid of the Exchange
The Fair Maid of the Exchange is a Renaissance play sometimes attributed to Thomas Heywood. First printed in 1607, the play was subsequently reprinted in 1625 and in 1637. It tells the story of three wealthy brothers – Ferdinand, Anthony, and Frank – who find themselves enamoured of Phyllis, the fair maid, and vie for her affections. Phyllis, however, is determined to win the favour of the Cripple of Fanchurch despite his indifference towards her. The play is set in Elizabethan London. The play is a city comedy, but can also be categorized as a comedy of intrigue as it entails comical sub-plots that involve the use "of disguises, mistaken identities, letters of misinformation, and false errands." This describes most of the play's action. As the title page from the 1607 publication indicates, the play was first printed for Henry Rockit. It was also printed under two titles in the three editions printed between 1607 and 1637: (printed in 1607 by Valentine Simmes) (printed in 1625 by John Legat, and in 1637 by 'A.G.' – the initials, perhaps, of Anne Griffin) Authorship Authorship of this play has been – and continues to be – debated. Evidence currently available to prove or disprove authorship is weak at best. One fact in support of Heywood having written the play is that both Edward IV (1599) and If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody (1605) were originally published anonymously. A counter argument for Heywood as the author lies in that he was known to add his own prefaces, dedications, and a motto to his plays. None of these appears in The Fair Maid of the Exchange. It is also conjecture that he wrote three scenes of the play and left the rest of the composition to a student of Shakespeare or Jonson. To validate this theory, however, and to distinguish the sections of the play written by him from those written by a co-author, one must have a firm sense of Heywood's style of writing and preferred subject matter. While it is difficult to define what makes a play strictly Heywoodian, the playwright appears to have had a preoccupation with portraying the home and business lives of the English middle class of his time. The Fair Maid of the Exchange is indeed a play that treats these matters. Publication and performance Publication Speculative circumstantial evidence suggests that the play's composition took place between 1601 and 1602. Although the precise date of composition is unknown, four records of the play appear in the Stationers' Register: 24 April 1607 9 April 1616 27 February 1635 22 December 1647 Performance Stage direction at various parts of the play (e.g. Fight and beat them away at line 101, and Give them the letters and they stampe and storme at line 2130) strongly suggests that the play was performed. Additionally, the division of 'dramatis personae' into 'Eleaven [who] may easily acte this comedie' is perhaps indicative of the 'division of labour' which would have been required for