Molière: A Theatrical Life [Hardcover]

Virginia Scott (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521782813 | ISBN-13: 978-0521782814 | Publication Date: November 20, 2000

Molière's long-lost trunk of letters and manuscripts has yet to be found amidst the dust of some Parisian attic, but in spite of that, a story of his life can be told from documentary evidence, reminiscence, gossip and innuendo, and inferences from his plays. He was very much a man of his time and place, and this new biography, the first to be written in English since 1930, places the great actor/playwright in his historical context as the son of well-to-do bourgeois and student at the Jesuit College de Clermont in the 1630's, as one of a group of stage-struck hopefuls and as a vagabond actor in the provinces in the 1640's and 50's, and--from 1658 to his death in 1673--as a clever courtier, a faithful friend, a not-so-faithful lover, a successful and controversial playwright striking out against hypocrisy in religion and medicine, and a cynical survivor of the literary, cultural, and marital wars. Virginia Scott is Professor of Theater at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has published numerous articles in Theater Survey, Theater Journal, and Theater Research International as well as writing the book The Commedia dellÀrte in Paris, which won the George Freedley Award for the best book in theater studies in 1991.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As the first substantive English-language biography of Molière since 1930, this is a happy arrival for students of the theater and of French literature and culture. In spite of the intermittent lack of verifiable facts, Molière's life reliably materializes as high drama, and Scott does not waste time trying to canonize refutable trifles. She makes the leaps necessary to create a strong narrative without sacrificing scholarship, and she paints her mischievous protagonist in front of a set of 17th-century France, magnificently evoked through vivid detail and fluid imagination. Born in 1622 to a bourgeois Parisian tapissier, or furniture merchant and upholsterer, Molière took a law degree in 1642, but then disappointed his parents by forming the Illustre Theater and becoming an actor, playwright and libertine. One of the central mysteries of Molière's life is his wife, Armande. She is sometimes identified as the illegitimate daughter of Molière's former mistress, Madeline Bejart, and Scott agrees with that controversial conclusion, but notes that it is only partly because the information available "intersects coherently with that conjecture and creates credible character choices." Scott freely admits that the possibility also "stirs my imagination and produces a more interesting narrative." Molière unwittingly made many enemies through his social satires. The church, the medical profession and the monarchy were among the many institutions lining up to ban Molière's comic plays, though still he managed to prosper in a violent and restrictive age. He ended his days playing the lead role in his own play The Imaginary Invalid and was very nearly denied the right to be buried in holy ground, because of his failure to repent before God and church for a life misspent, as was believed of actors at the time.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Scott (Theater, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst; The Commedia

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521782813
• ISBN-13: 978-0521782814
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,884,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall a good book., June 5, 2005

By 

Christopher Coquard (Edmonton, AB) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Molière: A Theatrical Life (Paperback)

I am a passionate fan of Moliere, so I was quite excited when I ordered this book. Scott does a good job of going over the controversies in his life, as well as letting the reader know when the historical sources fail to shed enough light on important issues in his career. There is however quite a bit of tedious information about circumstances of his time, as well as being written in a style much more personal and informal than I would have expected from Cambridge publishers. Sometimes she takes liberties about his life and motives.

The book has pictures inside, and a wealth of quotes that are also available in their native French at the back of the book which I really enjoyed reading in both languages.

Overall, this book is a great start to the life of one of the greatest satirists of all time in English.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moliere Book Review, April 5, 2008

By 

Richard I. Cronkhite "Richard Ivan Cronkhite" (Great Lakes States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Molière: A Theatrical Life (Paperback)

This is a good modern review of Moliere's life. Although the movie "Moliere" is excellent in its treatment of the subject, this book helps one understand Moliere's complicated life in theater a little better.