The Beggar's Opera: A Comic Opera (Classic Reprint)

John Gay

ISBN 10: 1334480273 / ISBN 13: 9781334480270

Published by Forgotten Books, 2024

About this Item

Print on Demand. This book, not a contemporary work, recounts the lives of Thomas Gay and his contemporaries, leading literary figures of the time. The renowned author, an active participant in the social milieu of early 18th century England, offers a unique perspective into the life of this poet and playwright. The book explores the enlightenment ideals of the time and the complex relationship between creativity and patronage through the lens of Gay's fascinating life, which was marked by disappointment and financial hardship. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book.

Seller Inventory # 9781334480270_0

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Beggar's Opera: A Comic Opera (Classic Reprint)
• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1334480273
• ISBN 13: 9781334480270
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Book Type: print-on-demand item
• Seller catalogs:
  • Drama

About this title

Synopsis

This book, not a contemporary work, recounts the lives of Thomas Gay and his contemporaries, leading literary figures of the time. The renowned author, an active participant in the social milieu of early 18th century England, offers a unique perspective into the life of this poet and playwright. The book explores the enlightenment ideals of the time and the complex relationship between creativity and patronage through the lens of Gay's fascinating life, which was marked by disappointment and financial hardship.

From the Back Cover

The great lords and powerful public officials of early eighteenth-century England are represented as highwaymen and thieves in this deliciously satirical ballad opera. In addition to its burlesque of the contemporary vogue for Italian operatic styles, John Gay's 1728 masterpiece ridicules a broad spectrum of political figures and social conventions—marriage, lawyers, trade, and even Walpole, the prime minister.
Depicting crime and vice at every level of society, The Beggar's Opera offers a witty and powerful indictment of greed, hypocrisy, and corruption in all social classes. When Peachum, a receiver of stolen goods, discovers that a notorious highwayman has eloped with his daughter, the wily old villain turns informer and collects the reward money as his prospective son-in-law is hauled off to prison. Events take an increasingly absurd turn as the dashing outlaw romances the jailer's daughter and effects an escape, only to return to the shadow of the gallows for a farcical climax that parodies the sentimental tragedy of the day.