The Man of Mode (New Mermaids) [Paperback]

George Etherege (Author), John Barnard (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 039390041X | ISBN-13: 978-0393900415 | Publication Date: January 1, 1995

New Mermaids are modernized and fully-annotated editions of classic English plays. Each volume includes:

• The playtext, in modern spelling, edited to the highest bibliographical and textual standards
• Textual notes recording significant changes to the copytext and variant readings
• Glossing notes explaining obscure words and word-play
• Critical, contextual and staging notes
• Photographs of productions where applicable
• A full introduction which provides a critical account of the play, the staging conventions of the time and recent stage history; discusses authorship, date, sources and the text; and gives guidance for further reading.

Edited and updated by leading scholars and printed in a clear, easy-to-use format, New Mermaids offer invaluable guidance for actor, student, and theatre-goer alike.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sir George Etherege (born 1635, died 1692) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub in 1664, She Would if She Could in 1668, and The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter in 1676. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039390041X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393900415
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,079,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Example of Restoration Comedy - Dialogue is Witty and Entertaining, August 21, 2007

By 

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

This review is from: The Man of Mode (New Mermaids) (Paperback)

Rather unexpectedly, I found The Man of Mode (1676) to be entertaining comedy. Although quite popular for several decades, it began falling out of favor in the 1730s. A 1965 revival in Yorkshire was the first known production since 1793. For its humor George Etherege's play offers witty confrontations; the plot itself is not highly structured and the ending is uncertain.

Through his easy wit and good nature, George Etherege, himself of more modest background, gained court favor during the Restoration period. He became a close associate of boisterous, young courtiers, wits, and rakes, especially the Earl of Rochester, Sir Charles Sedley, and the Duke of Buckingham. Playgoers apparently assumed that Etherege modeled his key characters upon these rakish aristocrats, although there was never agreement on their exact identity.

The play begins as Mr. Dorimant, perhaps best described as an impulsive libertine with a good nature, is determining how to abandon his current mistress, Mrs. Loveit, without compromising his plans to gain the favors of her close friend, Bellinda. His strategy involves placing Mrs. Loveit in a situation that suggests that she has betrayed him for the attention of a recent arrival from France, a Sir Fopling Flutter. Complicating matters, a newcomer - a young, attractive, witty (and financially secure) woman named Harriet - exercises undue influence on Dorimant. Most inappropriately, Dorimant is falling in love.

The Man of Mode is indeed a comedy of manners, but as is often the case with this genre there is a more serious undertone. Dorimant freely professes that the extravagant words and promises made in pursuit of love are no more meaningful than threats made in anger. By the mid-1700s public attitudes had shifted away from the looser morals of the Restoration period. Etherege's play was now roundly criticized as "a perfect contradiction to good manners, good sense, and common honesty". Even today this underlying moral issue may dilute the humor of the situation.

The Man of Mode may be absent from the stage, but it is not difficult to find it in print. A good source is the Regents Restoration Drama series published by University of Nebraska Press and edited by W. B. Carnochan. The introduction is quite good. There is also a 12-page literary chronology spanning 1631-1737.

New Mermaids has an edition edited by John Barnard. It offers a longer, more detailed introduction. An appendix contains the music for two songs found in the play.

Another source is the Norton Critical Edition titled Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy. Some two hundred pages of literary criticism were compiled by Scott McMillin. Some pertains directly to The Man of Mode.