The Revenge of Queen Margaret
Act I, Scene 1
Speaking of badness, history, bad-assedness, and more, below I post the opening scene of “The Revenge of Queen Margaret,” the lost Shakespeare history play. (You can also check out two scenes from Act Two, and some notes.) This play was buried for a long time in four other Shakespeare history plays. I discovered it and have now restored it, at maybe a two-hour running time. I may publish the whole thing somewhere (maybe day by day, scene by scene?)—but I'm giving a taste here, to kick off the plot and show that the play, being Shakespeare, is not a literary meditation but a visceral and propulsive stage drama, in this case about a number of women in relation to various kinds of power, their own and others', political and otherwise, in the English Civil Wars and elsewhere. If you know the Henry VI plays and Richard III, you'll get a sense from this scene of what the restoration required. But you don't need to know those works, or anything at all, about history, or Shakespeare. Do note that all of the spoken language is by the author, not me. If I publish the script, I'll include notes on its development to date, which has included a table-read with some good actors, before the pandemic lockdown (and before my last book ate me alive for a few years). I'm getting back on this project now. Formatting on Substack is not ideal for plays, especially on mobile (the verse wraps a bit weirdly), but I think it's fairly readable, and better on the desktop.
ACT ONE
SCENE I-1
France, a battlefield. The Duke of Warwick and the Duke of York hold Joan of Arc prisoner.
YORK
A maid, and be so martial!
JOAN
And while I live, I'll ne'er fly from a man.
(to the spirit world)
Now help, you charming spells and periapts!
And you choice spirits that admonish me,
Appear, and aid me in this enterprise!
WARWICK
A goodly prize, my Lord of York.
YORK
Fit for the Devil’s grace.
(York starts pulling off her armor.
On another part of the field, the Earl of Suffolk holds Margaret prisoner.)
SUFFOLK
O fairest beauty, do not fear nor fly,
For I will touch thee but with reverent hands.
Who art thou? say, that I may honor thee.
MARGARET
Margaret my name, and daughter to a king,
Regnier, King of Anjou, whosoe’er thou art.
SUFFOLK
An earl I am, and Suffolk am I called.
Be not offended, nature's miracle.
Thou art allotted to be taken by me.
(aside)
Fain would I woo her, yet I dare not speak.
MARGARET
Say, Earl of Suffolk—if thy name be so—
What ransom must I pay before I pass?
For I perceive I am thy prisoner.
SUFFOLK
(aside)
Fond man, remember that thou hast a wife.
Then how can Margaret be thy paramour?
MARGARET
He talks at random. Sure, the man is mad.
Hear ye, captain, are you not at leisure?
SUFFOLK
And yet a dispensation may be had.
(to Margaret)
Madam, I have a secret to reveal. …
(Joan's hands are tied, her armor on the ground. Warwick and York have erected a stake and piled wood beneath it.)
JOAN
My ancient incantations are too weak,
And Hell too strong for me to buckle with.
YORK
See, my Lord of Warwick,
How the ugly wench doth bend her brows,
As if with Circe she would change my shape.
JOAN
Changed to a worser shape thou canst not be.
YORK
(tying Joan to the stake)
She hath lived too long
To fill the world with vicious qualities.
WARWICK
Wicked and vile. And so her death concludes.
(Suffolk still restrains Margaret.)
SUFFOLK
Say, gentle princess. Would you not suppose
Your bondage happy, to be made a queen?
MARGARET
To be a queen in bondage is more vile
Than is a slave in base servility,
For princes should be free.
SUFFOLK
And so shall you,
If happy England's royal king be free.
MARGARET
Why, what concerns his freedom unto me?
SUFFOLK
I'll undertake to make thee Henry's queen,
To put a golden scepter in thy hand
And set a precious crown upon thy head,
If thou wilt condescend to be my—
MARGARET
(breaking the hold)
What?
SUFFOLK
—His love.
How say you, madam, are ye so content?
MARGARET
An if my father please, I am content.
SUFFOLK
(calling)
Then call our captains and our colors forth!
We'll crave a parley, to confer with him!
(Enter Reignier.)
SUFFOLK
See, Reignier, see thy daughter prisoner.
REIGNIER
Suffolk, what remedy?
I am a soldier and unapt to weep
Or to exclaim on Fortune's fickleness.
SUFFOLK
Consent, and, for thy honor give consent
Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king.
REIGNIER
Upon condition I may quietly
Enjoy mine own, the country Maine and Anjou,
Free from oppression or the stroke of war,
Margaret shall be Henry's, if he please.
SUFFOLK
That is her ransom. I deliver her.
(to Margaret)
I’ll over then to England with this news,
And make this marriage to be solemnized.
REIGNIER
(hugging Suffolk)
I do embrace thee, as I would embrace
The Christian prince King Henry, were he here.
(Exit Reignier.
York lights a fire under Joan.)
JOAN
No, misconceived! Joan of Arc hath been
A virgin from her tender infancy,
Whose maiden blood, thus rigorously effused,
Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven!
WARWICK
Because she is a maid,
Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake,
That so her torture may be shortened.
JOAN
I am with child, ye bloody homicides!
Murder not then the fruit within my womb,
Although ye hale me to a violent death.
YORK
The holy maid, with child!
WARWICK
The greatest miracle that e'er ye wrought!
YORK
Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and thee.
Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.
WARWICK
Over then to England.
(Exeunt Warwick and York.)
JOAN
(after them)
May never glorious sun reflex his beams
Upon the country where you make abode—!
Oh! Give me leave to curse awhile! …
(She starts to burn.)
SUFFOLK
But hark you, Margaret,
No princely commendations to my king?
MARGARET
Such commendations as becomes a maid,
A virgin and his servant, say to him.
SUFFOLK
Words sweetly placed and modestly directed,
But madam, I must trouble you again:
No loving token to his majesty?
MARGARET
Yes, my good lord. A pure unspotted heart,
Never yet taint with love, I send the king.
SUFFOLK
And this withal.
(Suffolk and Margaret kiss.)
MARGARET
That for thyself. I will not so presume
To send such peevish tokens to a king.
(They kiss again.)
JOAN
(burning)
Darkness and the gloomy shade of death
Environ you! Till mischief and despair
Drive you to break your necks or hang yourselves!
Oh, give me leave to curse awhile!
Curse awhile! Curse awhile!
__________
Copyright 2025 William Hogeland. All rights reserved.
This is great, Bill! You absolutely should do it. I honestly think you should use this as your pitch, and shop it around to Shakespeare companies. Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn leaps to mind. They seem to be aching for new ways to approach the material and are currently doing an ambitious edited version of Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 into one play. Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University is another full-resourced theatre that comes to mind that also seems to be aching for new avenues of presentation. Your project could be quite appealing to them. And my hope is that if they get some grant money, and make a kind-of promise to perform it if it they like the final result, it'll get you to do it. Because I'd love to read the whole thing.
I saw a production of Richard III at Classical Stage Company in 2007 starring Michael Cumpsty as Richard III and Roberta Maxwell as Margaret. And she was such a central, organizing presence that it changed the meaning of the play. I wrote her an email afterwards that they should have changed the name of the play to Margaret's Curse.
BTW I especially like your editing of the Joan of Arc stuff. I'm a huge histories fan, but the extreme propagandistic stuff written for her by Shakespeare (or more likely, his co-author) is some of the weakest in his entire oeuvre. But when you get done with it, you've preserved the Brit propaganda perspective, but made them look savage for it, and made her jump out of the page like the heroine she is. Bravo. And cutting and pasting has a long and noble heritage in Shakespeare performance.
this is my dream project. beyond dream project. i love this.