author
John Webster
Best known for The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, this dark, brilliant Jacobean playwright helped shape some of the most unforgettable tragedies on the English stage. Even though little is known for certain about his life, his work still stands out for its intensity, moral complexity, and eerie poetic power.
3 Audiobooks
The White Devil
by John Webster
The Duchess of Malfi
by John Webster
Webster & Tourneur
by John Webster, Cyril Tourneur
About the author
John Webster was an English dramatist of the Jacobean period, born around 1578 and thought to have died around 1632. Reliable sources agree that much of his life remains uncertain, but he is firmly remembered as the author of The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, two tragedies that have long been regarded among the strongest non-Shakespearean plays of the early 17th century.
He was a Londoner and the son of a prosperous carriage-maker, and he appears to have worked in the busy, collaborative world of Renaissance theater as well as writing on his own. His plays are known for their dark atmosphere, sharp psychological insight, and fascination with corruption, power, and violence.
What keeps Webster alive for modern readers and audiences is the mix of horror and humanity in his writing. His tragedies are bleak, but they are also intensely theatrical and emotionally rich, which is why they continue to be staged, studied, and rediscovered.