The Editions

When young Phoebe asks Sir Philip Freewit, the man who has got her with child, to fulfil his promise and marry her, he replies with shock: “My wife! Then I should never love thee more”. Thomas Durfey’s The Marriage-Hater Matched (1692) pokes fun at the figure of the libertine rake, which had become a favourite dramatic type with Restoration theatregoers, and forces him in the end to make up for his past recklessness. Besides the marriage-hater and the two women that vie for his affections, a remarkable gallery of secondary characters people this amusing comedy: a Frenchified lady fawning on her lap-dog, a fat clownish Dutchman laughing at his own jokes, a impertinent match-making widow obsessed with food, a peevish old-fashioned courtier, a pert lisping ingénue and two rude boobies bearing the names of Greek philosophers. This first modern critical edition offers a fully annotated text in addition to an introduction that situates the comedy in its literary and theatrical contexts. The editors discuss at length how Durfey drew upon successful comic modes while at the same complying with the moral values advocated by the new monarchs, William and Mary (1688-1702).

For more information on this edition of The Marriage-Hater Matched, go to: http://www.publicacions.ub.edu/

Often attributed to Aphra Behn, The Woman Turned Bully presents the London adventures of a young girl who flees her home in the country, disguised as a man, to escape an arranged marriage. As she seeks inspiration in the theatre to personate the gallant, the play offers an amusing satire of the extravagances of the rake-hero of Restoration comedy. A remarkable gallery of secondary characters includes a ridiculous old lawyer and his clerk, a strong-willed country widow who drinks and smokes tobacco, and an amorous old maid. Its well-structured plot, lively dialogues and comic situations recommend it as an entertaining play for today's readers and prospective audiences.

This is the first edition of the play since its original publication in 1675. The editors offer a modernised text, with abundant critical notes and an introduction which places it in its literary and theatrical context.

For more information on this edition of The Woman Turned Bully, go to: http://www.publicacions.ub.edu/

The Reformation (1673), attributed to Joseph Arrowsmith, is an amusing satire on the libertine manners of the Stuart court. A group of young men in Venice set up a society to reform sexual mores "a la mode d'Angleterre" and liberate women from the tyranny of fathers and husbands. Described by a contemporary critic as "the Reverse to the Laws of Morality and Virtue", the play was quickly withdrawn from the stage.

The comedy also offers a burlesque portrait of Poet Laureate John Dryden, poking fun at his critical opinions and dramatic production. This is the first critical edition of the play. The editors place it in its social and cultural context and present a fully annotated text, which enables today's reader to enjoy and understand Arrowsmith's lively picture of Restoration life.

For more information on this edition of The Reformation, go to: http://www.publicacions.ub.edu/

Thomas Shadwell's Epsom Wells (1672) is an amusing portrayal of licentiousness and intrigue among the London citizenry and gentry who frequented the fashionable spa at Epsom, Surrey. This new critical edition, the first since the 1930s, is fully annotated to enable today's reader to enjoy and understand the text to the full.

Making use of the most recent scholarship, the editors put the play in its social and cultural contexts. They cite contemporary accounts of the purgative and supposed procreative powers of Epsom waters -an ideal source for comedy. They also discuss Shadwell within the context of the Restoration theatre by examining his use of wit and repartee, and how he allied himself with the new comedy of manners, rejecting the Jonsonian tradition of humours.

For more information on this edition of Epsom Wells, go to: https://editorial.us.es/

Now regarded as one of the most amusing plays of the Restoration, Thomas Shadwell's The Virtuoso (1676) is an entertaining satire on scientific pretensions and sexual mores. This new critical edition, the first in three decades, is fully annotated to enable today's reader to enjoy and understand the text to the full. The introduction presents a picture of the author and his time as well as the play in the context of the Restoration stage and of later productions.

Making use of the most recent scholarship, the editors also focus on Thomas Shadwell as the direct inheritor of the Jonsonian comedy of humours and his critical attitude towards the new comedy of manners. They also discuss his long standing political and literary feud with John Dryden, who had satirised him mercilessly but who was eventually ousted by Shadwell as Poet Laureate.

For more information on this edition of The Virtuoso go to: https://editorial.us.es/