The play tells the story of two friends, the relaxed, pleasure-loving Freevill and the repressed Puritan Malheureux, and the turbulent relationship that both have with the passionate Dutch courtesan Franceschina. It explores the nature of human desire and the problems involved with trying to lead a "good," moral life when sexuality is so fundamentally a part of man's nature. This edition explores these themes as well as tracing the play's stage history as part of the Boy's company repetoire and its obsession with material culture. The introduction also explores key critical views of the play and examine it in the wider context of other drama of the period.
