Molière: A Theatrical Life (Hardcover)

by Virginia Scott (Author) "The young man was only twenty-five..." (more)
Key Phrases: ooo livres, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, Mlle Du Parc, Anne of Austria (more...)

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; illustrated edition edition (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.com Sales Rank: #629,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 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 2 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.