James Russell Lowell 
The Old English Dramatists (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) 

Posthumously published in 1892, this volume collects six lectures given by Lowell in 1887.  According to editor Charles Eliot Norton, ‘The lectures were never revised by Mr. Lowell for publication, but they contain such admirable and interesting criticism . . . that it has seemed to me that they should be given to the public.’ Included are: “Marlowe, ” Webster, ” “Chapman, ” “Beaumont and Fletcher, ” and “Massinger and Ford.”

About the author

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) was an American poet, critic, and diplomat.  A strong opponent of slavery, he wrote steadfastly in support of Lincoln and the Union cause in the pages of the North American Review, which he co-edited with Charles Eliot Norton.  Later in life, he served as American ambassador to Spain and then England.