Thomas Nashe

'...dreaming of bears, or fire, or water...' The greatest of Elizabethan pamphleteers, Nashe had a magical ability with words, never more so than in The Terrors of the Night, where he mulls over ghosts, demons, nightmares and the supernatural. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Thomas Nashe (1567-?1601). Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller and Other Works is available in Penguin Classics.

The Terrors of the Night

J. B. Steane

'Pamphleteer, poet, story-teller, satirist, scholar, moralist and jester . . .' Thomas Nashe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, was writing in the 1590s, the zenith of the English Renaissance. Rebellious in spirit, conservative in philosophy, Nashe's brilliant and comic invective earned him a reputation as the 'English Juvenal' who 'carried the deadly stockado in his pen'. In its mingling of the devout and bawdy, scholarship and slang, its brutality and its constant awareness of the imminence of death, his work epitomizes the ambivalence of the Elizabethans. Above all, Nashe was a great entertainer, 'his stories are told for pleasure in telling, his jokes are cracked for the fun of them, and his whole style speaks of a relish for living'. In addition to The Unfortunate Traveller, this volume contains Pierce Penniless, The Terrors of the Night, Lenten Stuff and The Choice of Valentines, and extracts from Christ's Tears over Jerusalem, The Anatomy of Absurdity, and other works.

The Unfortunate Traveller and Other Works

The Unfortunate Traveler or the Life of Jack Wilton

"The Unfortunate Traveller" is a picaresque novel written by Thomas Nashe, an influential Elizabethan writer. Set in the early 16th century, the novel follows the adventures of its protagonist, Jack Wilton, as he travels across Europe and encounters a series of misadventures and colorful characters. At the heart of the novel is Jack's quest for fortune and adventure, which leads him to become a soldier, a courtier, and ultimately, a spy. Along the way, Jack finds himself embroiled in a series of intrigues, romances, and betrayals, as he navigates the treacherous political landscape of Renaissance Europe. Through Jack's eyes, Nashe offers a satirical commentary on the social, political, and religious mores of his time. The novel is filled with witty dialogue, irreverent humor, and sharp observations about human nature, as Nashe skewers the hypocrisy and folly of the society in which he lived.

The Unfortunate Traveller

Written in the late sixteenth century, at the pinnacle of the English Renaissance, the rich and ingenious works of Thomas Nashe uniquely reveal the ambivant nature of the Elizabethan era. Mingling the devout and the bawdy, scholarship and slang, they express throughout an irrepressible, inexhaustible wit and an astonishing command of language. This collection of Nashe's finest works includes The Unfortunate Traveller, the sharp and grotesque tale of Jack Wilton, an Englishman travelling through Europe; Pierce Penniless, a biting satire on the society of his age; Terrors of the Night; Lenten Stuff; the sensual poem The Choice of Valentines; and extracts from Christ's Tears over Jerusalem and other works. Wide-ranging in subject, all capture the unique voice and fantastic ingenuity of one of the most entertaining Elizabethan writers - a man regarded by his contemporaries as the 'English Juvenal'.

Thomas Nashe

About

Books

Join the club