'Tis Pity She's a Whore is one of the most controversial plays ever staged in the English theatre. In this illuminating Handbook, Martin White:• offers an in-depth, moment-by-moment analysis of the play, looking at how it might be performed on stage• provides vital contextual material on John Ford's social and literary influences• reconstructs the play's performances in Ford's own time and examines later stage, television and film productions• guides the reader through the often heated critical and theatrical responses to the dramatic work.