- 192 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
The Beaux' Stratagem
About This Book
It attests to Farquhar's stature as a man that he composed this
warm-hearted and vibrant play while he was dying. Like The Recruiting
Officer, the play is set in a provincial town and its plot is slight:
Aimwell and Archer, two impecunious London gentlemen, arrive in
Lichfield looking for an heiress to marry. Aimwell, posing as his elder
brother, falls in love with his 'prey' Dorinda and confesses his
imposture to her; his 'man-servant' Archer arouses the wistful interest
of the unhappily married Mrs Sullen. The introduction to this edition
discusses the play for its theatrical merits and argues that it
dramatises the ills of marriage in early modern England, shown by
Farquhar to be more injurious to the wife than to the husband, and
calls for a reform of the divorce laws.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- CONTENTS
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- The Author
- The Play
- Staging the Play at the Queen's Theatre
- Recent Productions
- A Summary of the Plot
- A Note on the Text
- FURTHER READING
- ABBREVIATIONS
- KEY
- THE BEAUX' STRATAGEM
- Advertisement
- Prologue
- Dramatis Personae and Original Cast
- The Text
- Epilogue
- APPENDIX