She Stoops to Conquer (The New Mermaids) - Softcover

Goldsmith, Oliver; Davis, Tom [Editor]

3.65

11,865 ratings by Goodreads

9780393900460: She Stoops to Conquer (The New Mermaids)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393900460 ISBN 13: 9780393900460

Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company, 1989

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This charming comedy has delighted audiences for over two centuries. First performed in 1773, it concerns Kate Hardcastle, a young lady who poses as a serving girl to win the heart of a young gentleman too shy to court ladies of his own class. A number of delightful deceits and hilarious turns of plot must be played out before the mating strategies of both Kate Hardcastle and her friend Constance Neville conclude happily. Along the way, there is an abundance of merry mix-ups, racy dialogue and sly satire of the sentimental comedies of Goldsmith's day. The extraordinary humor and humanity with which Goldsmith invested this play have made it one of the most read, performed, and studied of all English comedies.

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About the Author:

The plays of Aurand Harris have been produced and applauded in thousands of productions around the world for nearly a half century. Harris was a prodigious dramatist, writing a new published play each season. He was a tireless experimenter of forms, themes, subjects. This modest man of irrepressible imagination and energy carried a vast array of honors and accolades. He was the first recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship in Children's Theatre. He received an honorary doctorate from a mid-western university, and was introduced into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. He was the first playwright to receive the Medallion of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America.

Review:

Comedy in five acts by Oliver Goldsmith, produced and published in 1773. This comic masterpiece mocked the simple morality of sentimental comedies. Subtitled The Mistakes of a Night, the play is a lighthearted farce that derives its charm from the misunderstandings which entangle the well-drawn characters. Mr. Hardcastle plans to marry his forthright daughter Kate to bashful Marlow, the son of his friend Sir Charles Marlow. Mrs. Hardcastle wants her recalcitrant son Tony Lumpkin to marry her ward Constance Neville, who is in love with Marlow's friend Hastings. Humorous mishaps occur when Tony dupes Marlow and Hastings into believing that Mr. Hardcastle's home is an inn. By posing as a servant, Kate wins the heart of Marlow, who is uncomfortable in the company of wellborn women but is flirtatious with barmaids. Through various deceptions, Tony releases himself from his mother's clutches and unites Constance with Hastings. --The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

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