title: Skull Beneath the Skin: The Achievement of John Webster
author: Professor Charles R Forker PhD
description: Very little is known about John Webster, a younger contemporary of Shakespeare. His reputation today rests mainly on two plays: The White Devil and The Dutchess of Malfi, the latter an acknowledged masterpiece of Jacobean tragedy. Forker provides a comprehensive overview of what is known, deduced, or guessed about Webster's life, as well as detailed discussions of his major works, minor works, collaborations, and attributions. Although this work has been intended as a basic "textbook" on Webster, the sheer volume of information here will certainly alienate the casual reader. (Is the rise and reception of coach-makers in England, for instance, at all relevant?) Nevertheless, an excellent addition to any academic library. James Stephenson, George Washington Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.<BR>Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: James Axler - Deathlands 43 - Dark Emblem
  Prologue
  The Beginning: Omaha, Nebraska, November, 1896
  Dr. Theophilus Algernon Tanner was a most striking man-not handsome, but fascinating all the same in
  the most abstract sense of the word. His countenance came equipped with a head of prematurely gray
  hair that flowed down to his shoulders, a mouthful of strong, white teeth and a long, thin face with
  inquisitive bright blue eyes set below an imposingly high forehead. Tall and lanky, his very being vibrated
  with that special inner glow that marked men of potential greatness.
  Dr. Tanner was one of those gifted few who seemed to literally shoot off sparks while thinking, and that
  was most of the time, since his mind was always working.
  Indeed, his most attractive attribute lay below the surface. Tanner's most notable feature was the brilliant
  brain encased in his skull, a mass of tissue containing more education and raw knowledge than any ten of
  his academic contemporaries. He held two degrees