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Thomas Dekker

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Woodcut from title page of published play (Dekker his Dreame) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Very little is known of Dekker's early life, though it is likely he was born in London around 1572. While he probably did not attend university, his capable Latin translations suggest he did attend grammar school. Dekker married a woman named Mary and had three daughters in 1594, 1598, and 1602. From around 1598 he worked as a playwright for The Admiral's Men, and engaged in the War of the Theatres with Ben Jonson and John Marston. Dekker wrote more than forty plays for The Admiral's Men, many of which are lost. His works include collaborating on Shakespeare's Sir Thomas More, Old Fortunatas and Satiromastix. He collaborated with Thomas Middleton on The Honest Whore and The Roaring Girl, and with John Webster wrote Westward Ho and Northward Ho. Dekker was seriously impoverished for most of his career, in and out of debtor's prison for much of his life (including in 1598 and 1599, the year The Shoemaker's Holiday was performed). From 1612 to 1619 Dekker was imprisoned for seven years because of a debt to the father of fellow playwright John Webster...
Read the essay: Thomas Dekker by Kate O'Connor
# Title Description Contributor
1 The Shoemaker's Holiday: Thomas Dekker

Like a Busby Berkeley depression-era musical, Dekker's comedy is a feel-good antidote to a...

Emma Smith
# Essay Title Description Contributor
1 English Renaissance Timeline: Some Historical and Cultural Dates

This list offers an overview of some historical and cultural dates from the English Renaissance...

Kate O'Connor
2 Thomas Dekker

...

Kate O'Connor
3 Renaissance Theatre

When John Brayne built the Red Lion Theatre in London’s Whitechapel in 1569, he could hardly...

Emma Smith
# Title Description Author
1 The shoemakers' holiday

ebook version of The shoemakers' holiday

Dekker, Thomas, ca. 1572-1632
2 The Roaring Girl or Moll Cutpurse

ebook version of The Roaring Girl or Moll Cutpurse

Dekker, Thomas and Middleton, Thomas
3 The Gull's hornbook: : Stultorum plena sunt omnia. Al savio mezza parola basta.

Gull's hornbook, reprinted; with notes of illustrations by J.N (John Nott)
...

Thomas Dekker
4 Patient Grissil

Patient Grissil: a comedy by T. Dekker, H. Chettle and W. Haughton. Repr., with an intr. and...

Thomas Dekker, H. Chettle, W. Haughton
5 Dekker his dreame

Dekker his dreame; in which the volumes of heaven and hell to him were opened.
repr...

Thomas Dekker
6 The seven deadlie sinns of London

Ed. by E. Arber.
Series: Engl. scholar's libr., limited libr. ed. 7
Lond...

Thomas Dekker
7 Plays by Thomas Dekker

The shoemaker's holiday -- The honest whore, pts l-2 -- Old Fortunatus -- The witch of Edmonton...

Thomas Dekker
# Resource Title Description Contributor
1 Dekker his dreame

Woodcut from title page of Dekker his Dreame (1620).