Number 7 in Nick Hern Book's Drama Classics series, providing great drama at a great price. Includes the full text, plus a short introduction that takes in the life of the playwright, the plot and background, and explores the themes of the play.
First produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on March 8, 1707, George Farquhar's last great Restoration comedy follows two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London. Shamed and debt-ridden, they flee to provincial Lichfield. Their Stratagem: to marry for money.
Lodged at the local inn, posing as master and servant, they encounter a teeming variety of human obstacles: a crooked landlord, a fearsome highwayman, a fervent French Count, a maid on the make, a drunken husband, a furious butler, a natural healer and a strange, turbulent priest.
But their greatest obstacle is love. When the Beaux meet their match in Dorinda and Mrs Sullen they are most at risk, for in love they might be truly discovered.
George Farquhar's final play is a fabulous carnal comedy. Introduced by Simon Trussler, this established masterpiece is both accurate and actable, Ideal for study and performance.
