?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,000
Shirley, James (1596-1666) St. Patrick for Ireland. The First Part.
London: Printed by J. Raworth for R. Whitaker, 1640.
First edition, quarto, described as the "first part" on title page, although no second part was ever published; title soiled, a few headlines cropped, likely not washed; bound in modern half morocco and marbled paper boards, purchased from Seven Gables in 1976; 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.
STC 22455; Greg II 593; ESTC S117360; rare at auction.
Shirley wrote St. Patrick while living in Dublin between 1637 and 1640, an escape from an outbreak of the bubonic plague in London. As far as we know, it was only performed in Dublin in this period, and never in London. St. Patrick premiered in the fall of 1639 at Ireland's Werburgh Street Theatre. Shirley conjures Irish Druids in this mystery play, and although he has the ancient Celts worshipping gods from classical mythology, the plot eventually circles back around to the story of St. Patrick and the snakes. The structure and characters echo other works of Caroline drama, including Massinger's The Virgin Martyr.
