John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

Infamous for their sexually explicit nature, the poems of the Restoration wit and satirist John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester, have been derided, snubbed, and praised as works of great genius. Keith Walker's acclaimed 1984 edition of Rochester's poems has been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate insights and discoveries made over the past twenty-five years, and includes a text of Rochester's play Lucina's Rape - the brilliant re-working of Fletcher's Jacobean tragedy Valentinian - which has been virtually ignored by modern scholarship. Presented in a text that readily identifies the 1,300 original lines that he introduced, this edition of the scandalously neglected play brings new light to Rochester studies, illuminating the dramatic skill of the great wit. Retaining all the outstanding features of Walker's book, the poems are presented in versions that were current during Rochester's lifetime and are arranged by genre. There are notes on dating and contemporary allusions, and the introduction includes an outline of Rochester's life, making this the ideal text for students and scholars.