Restoration Plays

by Robert G. Lawrence

This volume collects some of the most engaging and enduring plays of the Restoration period, 1660-1710. Among the five tragedies and two comedies are All for Love by John Dryden, The Country Wife by William Wycherley, The Way of the World by William Congreve, Venice Preserv'd by Thomas Otway, The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar, The Provok'd Wife by Sir John Vanbrugh, and The Man of Mode by Sir George Etheridge.

Genres: Drama, Plays, Classics

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 1992

Reviews

[Eleni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for the student of dramatic literature and theatre history. Restoration plays have a bad rep, I guess because people try comparing them to Shakespeare, which is unfair. These plays are little time capsules, little windows through which we can see a time and place that is gone forever and maybe that's a good thing. There's a lot of humor in these plays and social commentary and in some ways if you want to understand social theatre in the 20th century, you have to look back to what these writers were doing with the limitations placed on them. I can't remember which one I liked best, but William Wycherly's The Country Wife, William Congreve's The Way of the World, and George Farquhar's The Beaux Stratagem are must-reads.