The Witlings and the Woman-hater - Softcover

Burney, Frances

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551113783 ISBN 13: 9781551113784

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2002

Synopsis

This Broadview edition pairs two of Frances Burney’s linked comedies. They both present the character of Lady Smatter, a “femme savante” whose lineage may be traced back to Molière; they both centre on the misfortunes of the “elle” figure, the dispossessed heiress and wife who appears frequently in Burney’s fiction; and they both criticize a culture of misogyny that breeds suspicion and resentment. The Witlings, lighter and more comic, derives from late seventeenth-century conventions; The Woman-Hater, more melodramatic, both expresses and warns against the excessive sensibility of romanticism. Together, these two plays constitute a miniature history of English drama from the Restoration to the French Revolution and beyond.

This edition contains a valuable selection of appendices, including: Burney’s “Epilogue to Gerilda”; letters and diary entries; contemporary writings on comedy; and Burney’s cast-list for The Woman-Hater.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Sabor is a professor at McGill University.

Geoffrey Sill is a professor at Rutgers University.

From the Back Cover

This Broadview edition pairs two of Frances Burney’s linked comedies. They both present the character of Lady Smatter, a “femme savante” whose lineage may be traced back to Molière; they both centre on the misfortunes of the “elle” figure, the dispossessed heiress and wife who appears frequently in Burney’s fiction; and they both criticize a culture of misogyny that breeds suspicion and resentment. The Witlings, lighter and more comic, derives from late seventeenth-century conventions; The Woman-Hater, more melodramatic, both expresses and warns against the excessive sensibility of romanticism. Together, these two plays constitute a miniature history of English drama from the Restoration to the French Revolution and beyond.

This edition contains a valuable selection of appendices, including: Burney’s “Epilogue to Gerilda”; letters and diary entries; contemporary writings on comedy; and Burney’s cast-list for The Woman-Hater.

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1551113783
• ISBN 13: 9781551113784
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 329
• Editor: Sabor Peter, Sill Geoffrey