Description
This Broadview edition pairs two of Frances Burney's linked comedies. They both present the character of Lady Smatter, a "femme savante" whose lineage may be traced back to Moliere; they both centre on the misfortunes of the "elle" figure, the dispossessed heiress and wife who appears frequently in Burney's fiction; and they both criticize a culture of misogyny that breeds suspicion and resentment. The Witlings, lighter and more comic, derives from late seventeenth-century conventions; The Woman-Hater, more melodramatic, both expresses and warns against the excessive sensibility of romanticism. Together, these two plays constitute a miniature history of English drama from the Restoration to the French Revolution and beyond.
This edition contains a valuable selection of appendices, including: Burney's "Epilogue to Gerilda"; letters and diary entries; contemporary writings on comedy; and Burney's cast-list for The Woman-Hater.
About the Author
Peter Sabor is a professor at McGill University.
Geoffrey Sill is a professor at Rutgers University.
Reviews
It is no longer a secret for specialists only that Frances Burney wrote some of the finest stage comedies of the eighteenth century. Thanks to Peter Sabor and Geoffrey Sill, this splendid edition makes two of her best plays available to readers, directors, actors, and students alike." - Brian Corman, University of Toronto
"Burney's comedies, like her novels, have lively and funny moments, but are likely to appeal to modern readers as much for their uncomfortably vivid depictions of embarrassment, vulnerability and marginalisation on the basis of gender, class, status and money. Peter Sabor and Geoffrey Sill's edition effectively contextualises The Witlings and The Woman-Hater within eighteenth-century theatrical culture and Burney's own preoccupations, literary and personal. This is an attractive, affordable, and excellently annotated edition." - Jacqueline Pearson, The University of Manchester
Book Information
ISBN 9781551113784
Author Frances Burney
Format Paperback
Page Count 329
Imprint Broadview Press Ltd
Publisher Broadview Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 383g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 17mm
This edition contains a valuable selection of appendices, including: Burney's "Epilogue to Gerilda"; letters and diary entries; contemporary writings on comedy; and Burney's cast-list for The Woman-Hater.
About the Author
Peter Sabor is a professor at McGill University.
Geoffrey Sill is a professor at Rutgers University.
Reviews
It is no longer a secret for specialists only that Frances Burney wrote some of the finest stage comedies of the eighteenth century. Thanks to Peter Sabor and Geoffrey Sill, this splendid edition makes two of her best plays available to readers, directors, actors, and students alike." - Brian Corman, University of Toronto
"Burney's comedies, like her novels, have lively and funny moments, but are likely to appeal to modern readers as much for their uncomfortably vivid depictions of embarrassment, vulnerability and marginalisation on the basis of gender, class, status and money. Peter Sabor and Geoffrey Sill's edition effectively contextualises The Witlings and The Woman-Hater within eighteenth-century theatrical culture and Burney's own preoccupations, literary and personal. This is an attractive, affordable, and excellently annotated edition." - Jacqueline Pearson, The University of Manchester
Book Information
ISBN 9781551113784
Author Frances Burney
Format Paperback
Page Count 329
Imprint Broadview Press Ltd
Publisher Broadview Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 383g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 17mm
