- Malone Society
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The Malone Society is a British-based scholarly society devoted to the study of sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century drama. It publishes editions of plays from manuscript, facsimile editions of printed and manuscript plays of the period, and editions of original documents relating to English theatre and drama before 1642. It also arranges conferences and provides fellowships.
History
The society was founded in 1906 on the initiative of Alfred W. Pollard, who stated that every generation will need to make its own critical editions to suit its own critical taste, but that work of permanent utility can be done by placing in the hands of students at large such reproductions of the original textual authorities as may make constant and continuous reference to those originals themselves unnecessary. The chosen name commemorated Edmond Malone (1741-1812), the editor of the first variorum edition of Shakespeare.
The inaugural meeting was held at University College London It was attended by Frederick S. Boas, E. K. Chambers, T. Gregory Foster, Walter Wilson Greg, Ronald B. McKerrow, and Alfred W. Pollard. They agreed that a need existed for the reliable transmission of early modern play texts for scholars and students. Therefore they resolved, that a Society, to be called The Malone Society, be formed for the purpose of producing accurate copies of the best editions of early plays, an aim that has been successfully exexuted in the succeeding years.
Membership of the society has always been by formal nomination, and for many years the number was restricted to 250. Following the relaxation of that rule, membership became increasingly international, and local chapters have been established in the United States, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.
The Society is a registered charity that receives administrative support from the University of London's Institute of English Studies.
Publications
External links
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