A Woman Killed with Kindness[1] is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Heywood.

[2] Along with the anonymous Arden of Faversham, Heywood's play has been regarded as the apex of Renaissance drama's achievement in the subgenre of bourgeois or domestic tragedy.

The play was originally performed by Worcester's Men, the company for which Heywood acted and wrote in the early Jacobean era.

The records of Philip Henslowe show that Heywood was paid £6 for the play in February and March 1603.

[3] The plot of Heywood's play derives from an Italian novel by Illicini, which was translated into English and published in The Palace of Pleasure by William Painter (1566).

He decides to seduce Susan to disgrace her and Charles with her lewdness, but when he sees her, he falls terribly in love with her.

At a card game after dinner where the conversation is full of doublespeak, Frankford begins to believe it and works out a plan to catch them in the act.

Despairing of ever being able to woo her, Francis decides to pay Charles's debts and drop the charges against him for killing the servants earlier, in hopes that this kindness will bring Susan around.

(Scene IX-X) Frankford and Nick devise a scheme to call him away from home and see what Wendoll and Anne do in his absence.

As he departs, Wendoll convinces Anne to take their dinner in her private chambers, which will no doubt lead to dessert of a carnal nature.

After a bit of time, he pronounces his sentence on her: she is to take all her furniture, all her clothes and everything that belongs to her, choose which servants she likes best, and remove herself to the manor house seven miles away, where she can live out her days in peace.

(XI-XIII) Charles dresses up Susan and takes her to Sir Francis to be his bride and repay the debts.

Nick arrives with the lute, and she tells him to swear to Frankford that he saw her sad and that she will never again eat or drink.