Tricking Sir George into Marriage: The Utopian Moral Reform of the English Commonwealth in Thomas Deloney’s Jack of Newbury

Abstract

Thomas Deloney’s prose narrative Jack of Newbury (c. 1596-7) develops a utopian vision of the English cloth industry as supporting and reforming the English commonwealth from within. While the work’s implicit criticism of the contemporary neglect of the cloth industry is relatively obvious, the political and moral implications of Deloney’s episodic narrative are more conflicted and complex than its straightforward tone suggests. Through the repetition of plot motifs and the juxtaposition of episodes and different narrative forms, Deloney introduces ambivalent attitudes towards monarchic rule and the role of women in government. Moreover, he engages in an attempt to define and promote ideal English moral characteristics. Deloney thereby at once projects and undermines the hope of an ideal English commonwealth.