Written for the adult players at the open-air Swan theatre in 1613,
this master-piece of Jacobean city comedy signals its ironic nature
even in the title: chaste maids, like most other goods and people in
London's busiest commercial area, are likely to be fake. Money is more
important than either happiness or honour; and the most coveted
commodities to be bought with it are sex and social prestige. Middleton
interweaves the fortunes of four families, who either seek to marry
their children off as profitably as possible, to stop having any more
for fear of poverty, or to acquire some in order to keep their property
in the family. Most prosperous is the husband who pimps his wife to a
rich knight and lets him support the household with his alimony. Like
many early modern critics of London's enormous growth, this play
warned: the city is a monster that lives off the money the country
produces.

Dr David Nicolle was born in 1944 and worked for the BBC before returning to university, obtaining his PhD in Edinburgh. He subsequently taught at Yarmouk University in Jordan, since which he has contributed a substantial number of Osprey titles. He is a specialist in medieval arms and armour and has written several hardback books as well as numerous articles for specialist journals. He has also presented papers at many international conferences.

Angus McBride is one of the world's most respected historical illustrators, and has contributed to more than 70 Osprey titles in the past three decades. Born in 1931 of Highland parents but orphaned as a child, he was educated at Canterbury Cathedral Choir School. He worked in advertising agencies from 1947, and after national service, emigrated to South Africa. He now lives and works in Cape Town.