Ford wrote darkly about sexual and political passion, thwarted ambition, and incest. This selection of four plays also shows his ability to portray the poignancy of love as well as write entertaining comedy and create convincing roles for women. Setting Ford's earliest surviving independently-written play, The Lover's Melancholy, alongside his three best-known works, The Broken Heart, 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore, and Perkin Warbeck, this edition includes an introduction with sections on each play, addressing gender issues, modern relevance, and staging possibilities.

Ford's tragedy, originally printed in 1633, was the first major English play to take as its theme fulfilled incest between brother and sister.

The last decade has seen a revival of interest in John Ford and especially 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, his tragedy of religious scepticism, incestuous love, and revenge. This text in particular has provided a focus for scholarship as well as being the subject of a number of major theatrical productions. Simon Barker guides the reader through the full range of previous interpretations of the play; moving from an overview of traditional readings he goes on to enlarge upon new questions that have arisen as a consequence of critical and cultural theory.