The School for Scandal and Other Plays (Penguin Classics) Paperback – March 7, 1989

Richard Brinsley Sheridan is famous for "The School for Scandal" which in many ways epitomizes the wit and the morals of the 18th century. It looks back toward Restoration Comedy of the century before, but Sheridan's wit is less bitter and more good-humored than his predecessors. Of course Restoration comedy came from men who had survived a bitter Civil War whether or not they had actually been participants. Their cynicism and the deliberate artificiality of say "The Way of the World" along with deliberate cruelty exhibited toward persons whose only vice is to fail being being "witty" makes for uncomfortable reading, the sort of twinge which exists in a lot of 20th century drama, Joe Orton for example.Sheridan on the other hand likes a joke, likes to ridicule worthy subjects and has a wonderfully light hand with dialogue. He came from a theatrical family and knew in his bones (his first play "The Rivals" was written when he was barely out of his teens!) what would work on the stage.This is an excellent edition with an informative forward and good notes. The only caveat I have is the cover: why select an actress and a play from a totally different playwright and indeed period? Surely they could have found one of the actresses who actually starred in his plays?

This is a classic and does not need my approval to be a great work. It's a breath of fresh air after reading restoration comedy. The awful stereotypes in it are simply a refection of the age.

very funny and entertaining

This is one of the most engaging plays that I have read in my Theater career. So delightfully "scandalous!" If you are looking for a new play to fall in love with, this is the one for you!

Bought to read

This edition includes three of Sheridan's most famous works. "The Rivals" and "The Critic" are both fine plays, but the best by far is "The School for Scandal", a droll farce which lampoons gossip-mongers. The high point of the play is the famous "screen scene", in which one character after another takes refuge behind a screen to eavesdrop. The humor is sharp but never bitter, and the characters are wholly believable. It is easy to see why this play is still being performed after two hundred years.

In the majority of pages of verse, the last one or two lines are cut off. Advancing to the next page does not display them. Changing the typeface size or the page orientation does not fix the problem. This edition is unreadable.

An excellent edition with comprehensive notes to explain words/phrases no longer in use today. Outstanding value.

c'est un peu vieux mais super .... ça ma trop bien servi. Par contre qq1 à écrit dedans mais pas souci je voyais qu'à même

An amazing read for every art enthusiast.Delivery services of Amazon as impeccable as ever.

Ordinato insieme ad un altro libro il 9/11/2015, la consegna per entrambi era prevista entro il 24/11/15. L'altro volume è arrivato entro il termine indicato, questo non l'ho ancora ricevuto. Ho contattato il venditore il 19/11/15 ma a tutt'oggi non ho ricevuto risposta. Il problema non è nel costo ma nella necessità di avere il libro per motivi di studio.

I liked it. Richard Sheridan is talented in scriptwriting. Yet, it was too hard for me to read all the contents without a dictionally.