The Broadview Anthology of Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama

This exciting new edition provides an exceptional range of plays edited by leading scholars of Restoration and eighteenth-century theatre. In addition to fifteen canonical plays from the first edition are five newly edited plays: Lee's The Rival Queens, Vanbrugh's The Provoked Wife, Garrick's Miss in her Teens, Cumberland's The West Indian, and Inchbald's Such Things Are. Every play now features an engaging headnote and a fully edited dramatis personae, prologue, and epilogue. The innovative introduction plunges its readers into the experience of playgoing in London, and the edition features supplementary texts including select actor and actress biographies and theatrical documents that provide excellent context.

“Like a revival of a beloved playtext, this second edition of The Broadview Anthology of Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama retains the features that made its predecessor a classic, alongside timely updates designed to appeal to a new generation of students and instructors. A new introduction shows, rather than tells, the major cultural, economic, and sociopolitical shifts taking place in and around the playhouse over the century, conveyed through fictional vignettes of London theatregoing in 1677, 1731, and 1780. Updated headnotes and expanded paratexts for each play—including original prologues, epilogues, and cast lists—emphasize the plays’ origins as performance texts, while a selection of dramatic criticism from the period highlights the importance of drama to eighteenth-century literary and print culture. Accessible, engaging, and reflecting two decades of especially vibrant scholarship in the field, this new edition is sure to become an essential classroom text.” — Mattie Burkert, University of Oregon

“This anthology is an invaluable resource for scholars and students. Updating the original edition while keeping canonical favorites and adding four new plays and an afterpiece, the editors offer a unique window into what it was like to go to the theatre during the Restoration and eighteenth century. Engaging and concise introductions to each of the plays by leading scholars in the field highlight significant context(s) and material for discussion. I can’t wait to use this volume in my classes!” — Laura Engel, Duquesne University

“This new edition goes beyond the original in approaching the text as performance. It is, at once, a rigorously edited and curated collection of plays by the field’s top scholars and also a usable edition well targeted towards undergraduate and graduate students. The introduction, which places the reader in the theatregoer’s shoes, seamlessly weaves an impressive range of historical and cultural contexts, and information about the logistics and materiality of the theatrical experience, into an engaging-to-read narrative.” — Jane Wessel, US Naval Academy

“Congratulations to the editors for a masterful set of decisions! They have preserved the strengths of earlier editions even as they have integrated new materials that reflect recent scholarly developments in the field. The four new plays and the new afterpiece that they have wisely selected bring out the ways women and colonial subjects were represented on stage. They have added prologues and epilogues, capsule biographies of the actors, and an appendix of supplementary texts. Best yet is an introduction perfectly pitched to undergraduates. It’s wonderful to know that most of the material I use in the classroom can now be found in one place. This an ideal teaching tool that I will be using whenever I teach Restoration and eighteenth-century drama.” — Marcie Frank, Concordia University

Diana Solomon is Associate Professor of English at Simon Fraser University.

David Weston is Associate Research Grants Facilitator at Simon Fraser University.

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