A Companion to Restoration Drama

This Companion illustrates the vitality and diversity of dramatic work between 1660 and 1710. Twenty–five essays by leading scholars in the field bring together the best recent insights into the full range of dramatic practice and innovation at the time. Contributors examine well known genres such as Restoration sex comedy in a new light, and explore other genres such as heroic plays, satirical comedy, sentimental ′she–tragedy′, tragi–comedy and political tragedy. The three sections of the volume address the diverse aspects of Restoration Drama. The first situates the drama in its theatrical and social contexts and examines changing responses to Restoration drama from the eighteenth century to date, the second explores the wide range of dramatic genres, and the final section offers an introduction to the playwrights, including the first women dramatists. Coverage of the best known dramatists is balanced by attention to lesser known authors and plays.

Part I: The Drama in Context:. Introduction: Susan J. Owen (University of Sheffield). 1. The post– 1660 theatres as performance spaces: Edward A. Langhans (University of Hawaii). 2. Restoration Dramatic theory and criticism: Paul D. Cannan (University of Minnesota). 3. Theatrical Regulation During the Restoration Period: Matthew J. Kinservik (University of Delaware). 4. Libertinism and Sexuality: Maximillian E. Novak (University of California). 5. The Restoration Actress: Deborah Payne Fisk (American University in Washington, DC). 6. Masculinity in Restoration Drama: Laura J. Rosenthal (Florida State University). 7. Images of Monarchy on the Restoration Stage: Jessica Munns (University of Denver). 8. Restoration Drama and Politics: an Overview: Susan J. Owen (University of Sheffield). 9. Restoration Drama and Social Class: Aparna Dharwadker (University of Oklahoma). 10. Race, Performance, and the Silenced Prince of Angola: Mita Choudhury (Georgia Institute of Technology). 11. Restoration Drama After the Restoration: the Critics, the Repertory, and the Canon: Brian Corman (University of Toronto). Part II: Kinds of Drama:. 12. Heroic Drama and Tragicomedy: Derek Hughes (University of Warwick). 13. Restoration Comedy: J. Douglas Canfield (University of Arizona). 14. Tragedy and Varieties of Serious Drama: Jean I. Marsden (University of Connecticut). 15. London Theatre Music, 1660–1719: Todd S. Gilman (Yale University). 16. Shakespeare and Other Adaptations: Sandra Clark (Birbeck College, University of London). 17. Rakes, Wives, and Merchants: Shifts from the Satirical to the Sentimental: Kirk Combe (Denison University). Part III: Dramatists:. 18. Davenant and Dryden: Richard Kroll (University of California, Irvine). 19. Etherege and Wycherley: Robert Markley (West Virginia University). 20. Shadwell and Durfey: Christopher Wheatley (Catholic University of America). 21. Otway and Lee: Paulina Kewes (University of Wales). 22. Settle, Crowne and Tate: Don–John Dugas (Towson University). 23. Behn and Centlivre: Cynthia Lowenthal (Tulane University). 24. Congreve and Southerne: Miriam Handley (University of Sheffield). 25. Vanbrugh and Farquhar: John Bull (University of Reading).

Susan J. Owen teaches in the Department of English Literature at the University of Sheffield. She is the author of Restoration Theatre and Crisis (1996) and Perspectives on Restoration Drama (forthcoming), as well as numerous articles and essays on Restoration drama, a piece on Andrew Marvell and a theoretical article, ‘Chaos Theory, Marxism and Literature; ( new formations , 1996). She has also edited A Babel of Bottles: Drink, Drinkers and Drinking Places in Literature (2000).

"The book will serve its audience very well, and those needing further guidance will profit from the list of further reading at the end of each essay. Highly recommended for academic libraries, the volume will be especially helpful to upper–division undergraduate and graduate students." Choice "[...] the riches of Susan Owen′s book are sufficient to ensure it a place on anyone′s list of essential reading on Restoration Drama." Notes and Queries