The Country Wife (Cambridge Literature) [Paperback]

William Wycherley (Author), Ken Bush (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Cambridge Literature | Publication Date: February 13, 1997

"Now may I have, by the reputation of an eunuch, the privileges of one. . . and be seen in a lady's chamber in the morning as early as a husband. . . ." In 17th-century London, a notorious womaniser plans an outageous deception to gain unrivalled pleasures with the ladies of fashionable society. But Horner's ingenuity is taxed when he becomes involved with Margery Pinchwife, a newly-wed from the country who is innocent of the sophisticated ways of city life. Cambridge Literature is a series of study texts which presents writing in the English-speaking world from the 16th century up to the present day. The series includes novels, drama, short stories, poetry, essays and other types of non-fiction. Each edition has the complete text with an appropriate glossary. The student will find in each volume a helpful introduction and a full section of resource notes encouraging active and imaginative study methods.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Country Wife is shown to surpass much Restoration comedy in structural and thematic unity by counterpointing the principals'' attitudes on sex and marriage. Although the plot is episodic and portrays multiple sets of lovers, Wycherley succeeds in evolving a ''clear dramatic line.''"—Seventeenth-Century News

(Seventeenth-Century News ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. The series will be extensive and open-ended, and will provide school students with a range of edited texts taken from a wide geographical spread. It will include writing in English from various genres and differing times.The Country Wife by William Wycherley is edited by Ken Bush, Denefield School, Reading

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 16 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521565812
• ISBN-13: 978-0521565813
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #570,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wycherley: a man, a genius, May 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Country Wife (Cambridge Literature) (Paperback)

Far from being a silly comedy, The Country Wife is a work aimed at lashing Seventeenth Century loose morals. We laugh, of course, but through the alluring yet disturbing character of Horner, we perceive that something must be done if Restoration society wants to survive.

Wicherley presents us with unhappy wives and brutal or indifferent husbands who are utlimately fooled by Horner, the man who knows how to exploit the misery produced by mercenary unions. Poor Margery Pinchwife, the heroine of the piece, eventually brings tears in our eyes when we realize that she shall never be free from a violent man that considers marriage a cheaper substitute for keeping a mistress. Margery is the victim of both her husband and her careless lover. She is looking for love, but she keeps on coming across men who are interested in sex only. They can see her body; they can't see her delicate, naif soul.

However, Whycherley (who, we must remember, was the spiritual son of the great moralists Graciàn, Larochefoucault and so on, whose maxims are easily detected in the whole bulk of Wycherley's works) is able to see a way out in the honest, disintrested love between Alithea, Margery's brilliant sister-in-law, and Harcourt, Horner's dashing best friend. (these characters' names symbolize the perfection of their union: her name means "truth", while his name is significantly "Frank".)

This comedy is at its best when performed; however, it is well worth reading, especially if you have a lively imagination. don't miss the notorious "china scene": fifteen minutes of laughter that will make your sides ache.

Be careful: The Country Wife merely "looks" like a stupid, shallow comedy, but it is in fact a deep reflection on society, marriage and, why not?, even the situation of Seventeenth-Century English women.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a brilliant Restoration Comedy., March 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Country Wife, Second Edition (New Mermaids) (Paperback)

I recently reread this play for the third time and taught it in a British Literature survey at the University of Texas. Not only do I find it more entertaining and more brilliant with every reading, but I was shocked to find that the vast majority of my students really enjoyed it and preferred Wycherley to Shakespeare. If you want a smart, hilarious, and dark comedy that plumbs the depths of jealousy and sexual possession, this is a must-read play. If you're easily offended or have a hard time following complicated plots and catching bawdy puns, you'll certainly want to avoid it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Recovered Gem from the Restoration Period, October 7, 2007

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Country Wife (New Mermaids) (Paperback)

The eighteen-year closure of the English stage under the Puritans ended in 1660 with the Restoration of the monarchy. The restored theatre was controversial from the beginning for its sexual content. William Wycherley's comedy, The Country Wife (1675), involves two intertwined plots: 1) Mr. Horner, a noted rake, pretends impotence to gain access more easily to married women and 2) a young, inexperienced wife from a rural area is immediately fascinated by London life, especially its more lewd aspects.

Wycherley's plot is further complicated by another romance, one that is more conventional. Horner's friend, Harcourt, becomes enamored with a young woman engaged to a foppish, self-centered character. This romance is more virtuous, and perhaps functions as a counterbalance to the lewd and bawdy activities centered about Mr. Horner, the ladies of London, and the "inexperienced" country wife.

As social attitudes again became more conservative, The Country Wife gradually lost favor. It disappeared from the stage in 1753, and was not again seen until 1924. It was first produced in the US in 1931. In recent decades The Country Wife has gained considerable popularity, and is now among the best known play from the Restoration period.

Interestingly, women appeared on the English stage (rather than young boys dressed as women) for the first time in the Restoration period. When Mr. Pinchwife disguised his young country wife as a boy, the audience was treated to the scandalous view of a woman in tight fitting breeches. This, in addition to the offstage implied sexual activity, must have made The Country Wife a memorable event.

The Country Wife compares favorably with the best comedies of the next hundred years, including The Man of Mode, The Way of the World, and The School for Scandal. All four plays "are comedies of about men and women who live in London, care for sex and money, and make fools of one another if not of themselves". This quote is from the Norton Critical edition, Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy.

The Country Wife is available in a New Mermaids edition as well as in various anthologies such as the Norton edition and the Oxford World Classics edition titled The Country Wife and Other Plays (all by Wycherley).