The London Prodigal; As It Was Played by the King's Majesties Servants (Dodo Press)

The London Prodigal is a play in English Renaissance theatre, a city comedy set in London, in which a prodigal son learns the error of his ways. The play was published in quarto in 1605 by the stationer Nathalniel Butter, and printed by Thomas Cotes-the only edition in the 17th century. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare on the title page; but this is widely and generally rejected by scholars. The title page also identifies the play as a King's Men's play. The London Prodigal has been dated as early as ca. 1591, and as late as 1603-4. It is one of a long series of "prodigal son" plays that reach back as far as the Bible for inspiration and precendent; but it is also an example of the evolving Elizabethian genre of domestic dramas, and "one of the first naturalistic dramas in English". Individual scholars have attributed the play to Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, John Marston, and Michael Drayton; others have suggested Thomas Heywood and George Wilkins. None of these attributions, however, has been accepted by a significant proportion of the critical community.