The Rivals (New Mermaid Series) [Paperback]

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Author), J. A. Lavin (Editor), Elizabeth Duthie (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1980 | ISBN-10: 0393900444 | ISBN-13: 978-0393900446

Mrs. Mal. You thought, Miss!--I don't know any business you have to think at all--thought does not become a young woman; the point we would request of you is, that you will promise to forget this fellow--to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory. (Note: all the webmaster's mis-typings on own message board have just been explained by genetics.)

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'After years of neglect, Sheridan's 1775 comic masterpiece is coming back into fashion.' Michael Billington, Guardian, 14.9.10 'delightful comedy' Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph, 14.9.10 'the real pleasure of this play is in the characters, none more so than Mrs Malaprop, whose glorious abuse of the language instantly passed into the English bloodstream.' Georgina Brown, Mail on Sunday, 19.9.10 'This is one of those great Irish comedies that make their home in the English theatre, sending up English life with affectionate relish.' John Peter, Sunday Times, 19.9.10 'Sheridan's play is about the gap between the need for maturity and the immaturity of people who feed their feelings with semi-romantic fantasies.' John Peter, Sunday Times, 19.9.10 'Wonderfully rich and elegant comedy is accompanied by sudden glimpses of deeper emotion' Daily Telegraph - Charles Spencer, 24.11.10 --The Merrion-Webster Encylopedia of Literature --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard Brinsley Sheridan --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 125 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393900444
• ISBN-13: 978-0393900446
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,484,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Comedy of Manners - Gentle, Humorous Satire, October 29, 2003

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rivals (Crofts Classics) (Paperback)

The editor, Alan Downer, cautions the reader (as opposed to a spectator of the play) "not to allow himself to be troubled by the labyrinthine mechanics of the plot". Enjoy the comic aspects of the moment; the play will take care of itself. Downer argues that Sheridan envisioned The Rivals as a series of comic scenes, not necessarily a tightly woven plot.

In his preface Richard Brinsley Sheridan reminds the readers that this play was not initially well received and, in fact, he had to withdraw the play to remove imperfections. His later version was more successful and today The Rivals is one of the few English comedies from that period that continues to interest modern audiences.

I found the beginning slow. The author's wordy preface was followed by a prologue in which two lawyers plead with the audience to give this play fair consideration. On the tenth night a new prologue replaced the pleading as it was now obvious that the revised play was indeed successful. In Act 1 I had some difficulty keeping track of the characters and I chose to reread the first act before proceeding. Thereafter, the going was much smoother and I began to appreciate the foibles of the characters and their confused machinations.

The protagonist, the young Captain Absolute, was sensible for the most part, although his plan to woo the capricious Lydia Languish was obviously destined for trouble. The other characters included his excitable father Sir Anthony Absolute, his father's patient ward Julia, the silly Mrs. Malaprop, the comic gentleman wooers Faulkland, Acres, and Sir Lucius O'Trigger, and the conniving servants Fag, David, Thomas, and Lucy. While Sheridan does encourage us to laugh at his characters, his satire is gentle. His characters are not at all unlikable, just a little eccentric and possibly not overly intelligent.

I recently read and reviewed Sheridan's enjoyable The School for Scandal and I recommend that the reader new to Sheridan begin with it rather than The Rivals. Both plays are short and can be read with little difficulty with the help of an occasional footnote. For my reading of The Rivals I used the Crofts Classics edition in which Alan Downer provides a useful introduction, a list of key dates in Sheridan's life, footnotes, and a bibliography. I give four stars to The Rivals. I previously rated The School for Scandal as five stars.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ageless comedy, October 25, 2000

By 

Garley (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rivals (New Mermaid Series) (Paperback)

This is the first major comedy by Sheridan, a radical Irish actor and politician in George III's England. Not quite as complex and astute as his later She Stoops to Conquer, the Rivals remains a warm, unforgettable, and very, very funny play.

Here we meet the chatty Mrs. Malaprop, who proudly tells us "if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs"; her niece Lydia, lost in the world of lurid half-bound romantic novels; Sir Anthony Absolute, often wrong but never in doubt; Sir Lucious O'Trigger, of BlunderBuss Hall; and the rest. The dialogue and plot devices are well-crafted and funny; the social commentary is perceptive and satisfyingly naughty; but what stays with you is the humanity of each of the characters. These are not the charicatures of Restoration comedy, but personalties the reader will remember; ridiculous like all humans, but engendering empathy as well as laughter.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, September 23, 2010

By 

Kristina Naylon (Sugarloaf, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rivals (New Mermaids) (Paperback)

Ordered this book for a college english class. Shipped fast and was a great deal, why order a new book when there are used ones in great condition!