130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Happy Long Weekend! We're open all 3 days! 📚 Open 7 days, 8:30am–5pm

Emilia

4.27 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 360 ratings, 54 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Emilia explores the life of Emilia Bassano Lanier (1569–1645), a pioneering English female poet speculated to be Shakespeare’s Dark Lady. Amidst limited opportunities for women in the 16th century, Emilia’s story shines as a tale of artistic courage, feminist radicalism, and resilience. The play reflects on her legacy as a mother, teacher, and possible muse, giving voice to women historically silenced and erased.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in feminist history, Shakespearean scholarship, and theatre enthusiasts who appreciate bold, socially conscious drama that challenges historical narratives and celebrates female creativity.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

‘A spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It's also a rousing reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves heard.’ EVENING STANDARD

‘The great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm’s speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms. It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life and polemical potency.’ GUARDIAN

The little we know of Emilia Bassano Lanier (1569 - 1645) is that she may have been the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's Sonnets, mistress of Lord Chamberlain, one of the first English female poets to be published, a mother, and a teacher who founded a school for women. She was also a radical feminist with North African ancestry.

Living at a time when women had such limited opportunities, Emilia Lanier is therefore a fascinating subject for this speculative history. In telling her story, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm represents the stories of women everywhere whose narratives have been written out of history.

Originally commissioned for Shakespeare's Globe with an all-female cast, Emilia is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition with commentary and notes by Elizabeth Schafer, Professor of Drama at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

Series: Student Editions

View all
  • DNA
    This new Student Edition of Dennis Kelly’s popular play DNA contains introductory commentary and notes by Clare Finburgh Delijani, which provides an in-depth analysis of the play’s context and themes. As well as the complete text of the play, this new Methuen Drama Student Edition includes: An introduction to the playwright and social context of the play Discussion of the...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Death of a Salesman
    Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be … when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am. Willy Loman is an ageing travelling salesman haunted, driven, and yet held back by empty dreams of prosperity and success. Justly celebrated as one of the most famous...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Our Country's Good
    Australia 1789. A young married lieutenant is directing rehearsals of the first play ever to be staged in that country. With only two copies of the text, a cast of convicts, and one leading lady who may be about to be hanged, conditions are hardly ideal... Winner of the Laurence Olivier Play of the Year Award in 1988, and many...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The House Of Bernarda Alba
    Bernarda Alba is a widow, and her five daughters are incarcerated in mourning along with her. One by one, they make a bid for freedom, with tragic consequences. Lorca's tale depicts the repression of women within Catholic Spain in the years before the war. The House of Bernarda Alba is Lorca's last and possibly finest play, completed shortly before he...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Blood Brothers
    Blood Brothers by Willy Russell is a 1983 play with music that tells the compelling story of twin brothers separated at birth because their mother cannot afford to keep them both. One of the twins is given away to the wealthy Mrs Lyons and they grow up as friends, unaware of their true relationship, until an inevitable quarrel unleashes a...
    Paperback
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Crucible
    Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name! In a small tight-knit community, gossip and rumour...
    Paperback
    $1999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Wasted
    Three old friends in their mid-twenties. One remarkable day. For Ted, Danny and Charlotte, it’s time to seize control. Make a difference. Change things. This is it.A day trip through the parks and raves and cafes of South London, where life is what you make it. The rapid-fire words of Kate Tempest paint a picture of lives less ordinary in...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • On Sale
    18% off
    A Streetcar Named Desire
    This revised Student Edition includes an introduction by Bess Rowen, Assistant Professor at Villanova University, US, which looks in particular at the play's treatment of rape, vulnerable people, mental institutions (especially in connection to Williams's own family), sexuality and sexual desire. A Streetcar Named Desire shows a turbulent confrontation between traditional values in the American South – an old-world graciousness...
    Paperback
    $1800
    Usually:
    $2199
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • All My Sons
    ‘His drama is a piece of expert dramatic construction. Mr. Miller has woven his characters into a tangle of plot that springs naturally out of the circumstances of life today.’NEW YORK TIMES Three years on from the disappearance of his son, successful businessman Joe Keller has made a comfortable life for his family in America’s Midwest. Despite being accused of...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Antigone
    The gods never move faster than when punishing men with the consequences of their own actions. Desperate to gain control over a city ravaged by civil war, Creon refuses to bury the body of Antigone's rebellious brother. Outraged, she defies his edict. Creon condemns the young woman, his niece, to be buried alive. The people dare not object, but the...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Doll’s House
    This revised Student Edition of Ibsen’s popular play contains introductory commentary and notes by Sophie Duncan, which offer a contemporary lens on the play's gender politics and consider seminal productions and adaptations of the play into the 21st century. As well as the complete text of the play itself, this new Methuen Drama Student Edition includes a: Chronology of the...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Importance of Being Earnest
    After all, who has the right to cast a stone against one who has suffered? Cannot repentance wipe out an act of folly? Why should there be one law for me and another for women? Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, a 'trivial play for serious people', is a sparkling comedy of manners that epitomises wit and style. This...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

This rousing speculative history by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is celebrated for its passion, anger, and theatrical flair. Critics praise its all-female cast and feminist rhetoric, blending historical context with modern language to create a witty, poignant drama. Reception was highly enthusiastic, described as a 'therapeutic blast' in our modern era, culminating in a powerful call to arms that resonates deeply today.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350200258

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 August 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Contributors:

  • Edited by Professor Elizabeth Schafer

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 160g

Pages: 184

About the Author

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is a playwright and screenwriter. Her play Emilia (Shakespeare’s Globe, 2018) transferred to the West End the following year. Her play Belongings premiered at the Hampstead Theatre and Trafalgar Studios (2011) and was shortlisted for the Charles Wintour Most Promising Playwright Award and her play The Wasp at Hampstead Theatre also transferred to Trafalgar Studios in 2015. She has co-written several acclaimed immersive site-specific plays with Katie Lyons, produced by Look Left Look Right, including You Once Said Yes, Above and Beyond and Once Upon a Christmas. She wrote and performed comedy for several years as part of the comedy group Trippplicate. She was part of the writing team for four of the Lyric Hammersmith’s pantomimes from 2009-2012 and wrote (solo) the Bolton Octagon’s Christmas plays for 2013 and 2014. She has written two large community plays for the Old Vic New Voices: Platform and Epidemic. She formed Terrifying Women with Abi Zakarian, Sampira and Amanda Castro in 2021 with an aim to producing more horror in theatre. She is also working in Film and Television; her film adaptation of her play The Wasp is due out in 2023 and her TV adaptation of Josephine Hart’s Damage is also due out on Netflix in 2023.

Elizabeth Schafer is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her work focuses on Shakespeare in production, women's work with Shakespeare and Australian drama and theatre.

Also by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm

View all
  • Emilia
    Winner of the Noel Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy at the 2020 Olivier Awards In 1611, Emilia Bassano wrote a volume of radical, feminist, and subversive poetry. It was one of the first published collections of poetry written by a woman in England. The little we know of Emilia Bassano is restricted to the possibility that she may...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Morgan Lloyd Malcolm: Plays 1
    In her first collection of plays, Olivier award-winning playwright and screenwriter Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's talent for writing complex female characters is on dazzling display. Belongings (2011): "Malcolm’s writing is sharp and witty but also very powerful in places. Her use of humour can be shocking but it helps to balance out the weighty issues being explored: guilt, gender and family...
    Paperback
    $4999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    I’ll Believe in Anything
    From Jacob Tierney, the creator of Heated Rivalry, in partnership with Brendan Brady and Accent Aigu, comes I’ll Believe in Anything, an official and complete collection of annotated scripts for the biggest cultural sensation of the year, with all new exclusive behind-the-scenes content.Based on Rachel Reid’s blockbuster Game Changers book series, Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO in late 2025 and immediately took the world by storm. I’ll...
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    16% off
    New Release
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    20% off
    The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    21% off
    The Iliad
    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)—critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an...
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    On Sale
    20% off
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Birdlands Birdlands
    New Release
    Birdlands
    A rare, intimate journey into the wild islands where Aotearoa's birds live beyond the reach of most human lives. In the most remote outposts of Aotearoa, our islands are populated not with people, but with birds. From the storm-lashed Subantarctic Islands in the deep south to the scattered volcanic islands of Tikapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf in the north, Birdlands offers a...
    Hardback
    $4199
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    21% off
    This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $5800
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Beautiful Chaos
    New Release
    Beautiful Chaos
    Featuring five exclusive new poems, this stunning foil-embossed hardback edition is a collector's item and a gorgeous gift. The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller. Selected poems on motherhood from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'Reading Jess's poems makes me feel like she's somehow reached into my own personal reflections and articulated them in a way I never could.' –...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Mah Jong Player's Companion
    Since the arrival on the market of Patricia Thompson and Betty Maloney's two previous books, The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated and Improve Your Mah Jong, a wide range of hands from many parts of the world has been sent to them. In this player's companion, the authors have put together a cross-filled reference guide where over 120 hands, illustrated...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Artist's Way
    The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is a transformative guidebook that has captivated millions, including luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert and Tim Ferriss. With its profound ability to inspire and elevate, this book invites readers to embark on an enriching creative journey, fostering a deeper connection to one's artistic process and sense of purpose. The heart of Cameron's groundbreaking programme...
    Paperback
    $3700
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.