The Romancers

by Edmond Rostand

The Romancers A Comedy in Three Acts by Edmond Rostand This 1894 comedy in three-acts was translated by Barrett Clark. Edmond Rostand later became famous with his writing of Cyrano de Bergerac. The Romancers is best produced with the late 18th century in mind and customs from the Louis XVI period. This light-hearted romance is about two young lovers discovering that love can exist without obstacles and the excitement of danger.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Theatre, France, French Literature, Drama, Fiction

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

People know light, entertaining works, particularly Cyrano de Bergerac (1897), of French playwright Edmond Rostand.

Neo-romanticism associates poet and dramatist Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand. His romantic plays provided an alternative to the popular naturalistic theatre during the late 19th century. People adapted "Les Romanesques" as the highly successful musical comedy "The Fantasticks."

The Académie Française elected this youngest writer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_...

Reviews

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this short play about two young love birds that need excitement and intrigue in their romance to create passion. The old and wise know that without the fantasy of romance, a marriage proposal could turn stale and much like a business transactions.

[Juergen John Roscher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short three act play by Edmond Rostand. A clever story about the expectations of romance is much greater than actual romance.

[Bonnie Reeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to be the main character in this for my junior high speech class! It was a lot of memorizing, but what a great experience.

[Alaina Sloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, amusing play with the adroitness and cleverness you'd expect from the author of Cyrano de Bergerac. The long-running New York musical The Fantasticks was based on The Romancers.

[Nixon Sucuc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the fact that Rostand wrote a play about this theme is reason enough for me to live this.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

[superawesomekt]

I read this in my eighth grade English class with a very old-school traditional teacher—we memorized poems, learned Latin roots, and had to perfectly write cursive.

The only reason I remember this play exists is because my teacher told me it was the inspiration for the Broadway musical, "The Fantasticks," in whose music my childhood home was steeped.

I have listened to the modern play's music (featuring a young Jerry Orbach!) and have since seen a movie adaptation as well as a few live performances, and finally I'll be reading it (The Fantasticks) with my book club this month so it was time to revisit its inspiration. I had not remembered that Rostand was its author! I loved Cyrano de Bergerac, and this play is true to his clever and warm style. Satire with a subversive romantic streak. After a little disillusionment, romance is still possible, even without all of its trappings, but you must simply have a little imagination. As Oscar Wilde cleverly quipped, "Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence." And Rostand might add to keep a healthy distance between in-laws ❤️

"There is a curious paradox that no one can explain. Who understands the secret of the reaping of the grain? Who understands why Spring is born out of Winter’s laboring pain, or why we must all die a bit before we grow again? I do not know the answer; I merely know it’s true. I hurt them for that reason, and myself a little bit too." —The Fantasticks

[Anne Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taught it. Students enjoyed it and it allowed us to explore romantic comedy and satire! Also acting in the classroom, which is always fun.

[Marty Reeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorite books of all time is Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Because of this, I force everyone within a one and a half foot radius of me to read that book. This was no different from my wife soon after we were married (she often found herself within that one and a half foot radius ... go figure). We loved reading it together. So much so, that we looked to read some other plays together, and she dug up a short scene (it turns out, the first Act) of a play that she remembered reading and performing for one of her drama classes in high school. It was called the Romancers, it was by the self-same Edmond Rostand, and it was extremely clever and fun.

Imagine our delight when, a year or so later, we discovered that we had only read the first in a three act play. I immediately ordered the complete play on-line and we tried to find some time to read it. Over Spring Break, we finally found the time, and we brought the play that we had started, by now years ago, to a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, the play is a clever, though not biting spoof, on Romeo and Juliet. It is short, has plenty of fun and funny moments, and then it ends appropriately. As far as Rostand goes, I expected perhaps just a little bit more out of the ending than what he presents here, something a little bit deeper, or packing just a bit more punch. But it certainly was true to the story, and it did not diminish the greatness of the rest of the play too much. Overall, if you've got an afternoon with someone you love, or if you have crazy teenagers with equally crazy crushes, then this would be a nice, fun read to enjoy together.

[Joshlynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up as a big Rostand fan, not even knowing that it was the basis for one of my favorite musicals: The Fantasticks. It appeared to even be based on this exact translation by Barrett Clark. So if you want to do The Fantasticks, but you and your friends can't sing for beans, turn here.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because apparently The Fantasticks is based on this + it's written by Edmond Rostand, who wrote Cyrano de Bergerac, which is a favorite. It's so hard to find a hard copy of this though D:

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Edit: I found a soft copy at Project Gutenberg and I couldn't resist.

[Bogdan Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Amorul, poezia, naivi am fost noi doi, s-o căutăm aiurea, când ea — era în noi!"