The School for Scandal and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Author), Michael Cordner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 1998

Richly exploited comic situations, effervescent wit, and intricate plots combine to make Sheridan's work among the best of all English comedy. This edition includes his most famous plays, The Rivals, The School for Scandal, and The Critic, as well as two lesser known musical plays, The Duenna and A Trip to Scarborough. A detailed introduction and notes on Sheridan's playhouses and critical inheritance make this an invaluable edition for study and performance alike.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Cordner is Professor of English in the Department of English and Related Literature at the University of York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Trade edition (November 19, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192825674
• ISBN-13: 978-0192825674
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,332,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious!, May 17, 2000

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"lucrezia_79" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The School for Scandal and Other Plays (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheridan, political wit and playwright, September 15, 2009

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Cleopatrai - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The School for Scandal and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

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?