Woman's Plot, The

Massinger, Philip (1621)

Historical Records

Payments for Court Performance

That "The Woman's Plot" by Massinger was performed at Whitehall by the King's company on 05 November 1621 is confirmed by the following sources:

Chamber Accounts, Payments to Players, etc

Item 149a (Cook 76):

To Iohn Hemyngs in the behalfe of himselfe and the rest of his fellowes his Ma^te sevaunts for presenting sixe severall Plaies before his Ma^tie by warr^t of the xxvij^th of Marche 1622 ..... lx^li

Inner Temple Library MS 515, no.7

This Inner Temple Library MS, found by Murray (English Dramatic Companies 2.193), adds detail to the Chamber Accounts payment above:

27 Marcii. A warrant for allowance of lx^li to John Hemmings and his fellowes the Kings Ma^ts Players for 6 plaies vizt The womas Plott plaid before his Mat^ie 5^o Novembris last, The Woman is to Hard for him 26^o of the same Monethe, The Island Princes vppon St Stephens day The Pilgrim on new yeares day, The Wildgoose Chase the xxiiii of Januarie, The Coxcombe the 5 of this instant Marche

Lord Chamberlain's office-books

On 7 August 1641, the Earl of Essex (now Lord Chamberlain) required the Stationers' Company to forbid the printing of King's Men plays without the company's consent (the desire to protect their plays having been occasioned by the onset of plague and the consequent closure of the theatres from 5 August til the end of November 1641) (Bentley 1.65).

The list of plays specified includes "The womans Plott".

(See the list in full here)

Stationers' Register

09 September 1653 (S.R.II, 1.429 CLIO)

Master Mosely Entred also . . . the severall playes following . . xx^s vj^d

...

The Noble choice, or the orator	}
The wandring lovers or the painter	}
The Italian night-peece, or, the unfortunate piety	}
Alexius, the chast gallant, or The bashfull lover	}
A very woman, or, the woman's plot.	}	by Phill. Massinger.
The Judge, or Believe as you list	}
The Prisoner, or the Faire Anchoress	}
The citie honest man, or the guardian	}
The Spanish Viceroy or the honor of women	}
Minerva's sacrifice, or the forc'd lady	}
The Maids Tragedie, 2d part.

Warburton's list

"The Woman's Plot" appears as the 26th play noted by John Warburton (1682-1759) in his list of the unprinted MS plays allegedly in his collection until destroyed by Warburton’s cook (Greg, "The Bakings of Betsy" 231):

S^t. Geõ. For England by Will. Smithe

The Parliam^t of Love by W^m. Rowley

The Widows Prise C. W^m Sampson

The Inconstant Lady W^m. (sic) Wilson

The Womans Plott Phill. Massinger

See the full list from British Library Lansdowne MS. 807 here.

Theatrical Provenance

<Enter information about which company performed the play, and where/when it was performed, etc.>

Probable Genre(s)

<List possible genres of the play: if noted by a critic, cite them, e.g. "Comedy (Harbage)". If an original speculation, simply list the genre.>

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

<Enter any information about possible or known sources. Summarise these sources where practical/possible, or provide an excerpt from another scholar's discussion of the subject if available.>

References to the Play

<List any known or conjectured references to the lost play here.>

Critical Commentary

Fleay notes that a play called The Very Woman, or The Prince of Tarent was licensed by Herbert on 06 June 1634 and later published with The Bashful Lover and The Guardian under Massinger's name in 1655. He argues that the 1653 Stationers' Register entry was in error, and that The Very Woman and "The Woman's Plot" are different plays (BCED 1.215).

For What It's Worth

<Enter any miscellaneous points that may be relevant, but don't fit into the above categories. This is the best place for highly conjectural thoughts.>

Works Cited

Cook, David and F. P. Wilson, eds. "Dramatic Records in the Declared Accounts of the Treasurer of the Chamber 1558-1642". Malone Society Collections VI. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1961.

Murray, John Tucker. English Dramatic Companies, 1558-1642. London: Constable and Company Limited, 1910. Internet Archive

Site created and maintained by David McInnis, University of Melbourne; updated 15 Jan 2016.