SOURCE: “Cyril Tourneur,” in The Times Literary Supplement, November 13, 1930, p. 925.

In the following essay, Eliot considers the question of whether both The Revenger's Tragedy and The Atheist's Tragedy can be rightly attributed to Tourneur. He goes on to argue that The Revenger's Tragedy is one of the greatest plays written by a minor Elizabethan, asserting that while the play is a work of morbid and juvenile fascination with death that is marked by cynicism and loathing, it also demonstrates remarkable technical innovations and employs a unique verse style.

Although the tragedies which make immortal the name of Cyril Tourneur are accessible to every one in the Mermaid edition, it is still an event to have a new edition of the “work” of this strange poet. Fifty-two years have passed since the edition in two volumes by Churton Collins. And this sumptuous critical edition of Professor Nicoll's¹ reminds us...