Though once a favourite of no fewer than four English monarchs, Restoration playwright Thomas Durfey has long been neglected by scholars. In his own day he had a lowly reputation in the world of polite letters - before his death his plays had more or less ceased to be produced; his 'serious' poems had died long before that, and even his songs were soon thought of as common property or 'folk' songs. In this new study, author John McVeagh re-examines Durfey's literary output, finding merit and interest where it has long been presumed that none existed, and restoring Durfey to his proper place in late 17th- and early 18th-century literature. Durfey's creative lifetime spanned the entire Restoration period and continued into and beyond the reign of Queen Anne. McVeagh's book studies his continuing ability to adapt to shifts in taste, fashion and personnel in the world of the theatre. It examines in detail his numerous experiments in new kinds of dramatic writing, both responding to and influencing the conditions of theatrical and artistic production. Among the topics covered are Durfey's attempts to feminize Restoration comedy, his political satires in drama in the late Stuart years, his anticipations of sentimental comedy, his search for a new language for lower class tragedy, and his musical-dramatic experimentations in the 1680s and 1690s, focusing particularly on his collaborative work with Matthew Locke, Samuel Ackroyde, John Eccles, Daniel and Henry Purcell and other composers. In addition, the author discusses Durfey's numerous satiric, narrative and other poems, and relates his writings to their social, political and cultural contexts. The book includes a performance record, listing the plays by performance date. The record includes such information, if known, as: where it was performed; by what company; cast list; to whom it was dedicated; a brief description of the prologue and epilogue; when it was published; what music it contained; and details of any revivals.

This book provides a comprehensive study of the plays of Thomas D'Urfey, a prolific and popular playwright of Restoration England. Included in this edition is a reprint of his play A Fool's Preferment, which offers a glimpse into the social and political satire of the era. Forsythe's analysis offers a fresh perspective on D'Urfey's works, making this book essential for anyone interested in Restoration drama. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

When young Phoebe asks Sir Philip Freewit, the man who has got her with child, to fulfil his promise and marry her, he replies with shock: “My wife! Then I should never love thee more”. Thomas Durfey’s The Marriage-Hater Matched (1692) pokes fun at the figure of the libertine rake, which had become a favourite dramatic type with Restoration theatregoers, and forces him in the end to make up for his past recklessness. Besides the marriage-hater and the two women that vie for his affections, a remarkable gallery of secondary characters people this amusing comedy: a Frenchified lady fawning on her lap-dog, a fat clownish Dutchman laughing at his own jokes, a impertinent match-making widow obsessed with food, a peevish old-fashioned courtier, a pert lisping ingénue and two rude boobies bearing the names of Greek philosophers. This first modern critical edition offers a fully annotated text in addition to an introduction that situates the comedy in its literary and theatrical contexts. ;The editors discuss at length how Durfey drew upon successful comic modes while at the same complying with the moral values advocated by the new monarchs, William and Mary (1688-1702).

Thomas Shadwell, The Libertine * George Etherege, The Man of Mode * Thomas Durfey, A Fond Husband * Thomas Otway, Friendship in Fashion These four plays in the Oxford English Drama series capture the range of responses to the fashionable and daring libertine movement in the second half of the seventeenth century. A Fond Husband and Friendship in Fashion are lesser-known comic gems of the Restoration stage; The Man of Mode is Etherege's masterpiece, and The Libertine is Shadwell's experimental and dark version of the Don Juan story. The texts are freshly edited using modern spelling. There is a critical introduction, wide-ranging annotation, and an informative bibliography which together illuminate the plays' cultural context and theatrical potential for reader and performer alike. 'The series should shape the canon in a number of significant areas. A splendid and imaginative project.' Professor Anne Barton, Cambridge University

The humble ballad, defined in 1728 as "a song commonly sung up and down the streets," was widely used in elite literature in the eighteenth century and beyond. Authors ranging from John Gay to William Blake to Felicia Hemans incorporated the seemingly incongruous genre of the ballad into their work. Ballads were central to the Scottish Enlightenment's theorization of culture and nationality, to Shakespeare's canonization in the eighteenth century, and to the New Criticism's most influential work, Understanding Poetry. Just how and why did the ballad appeal to so many authors from the Restoration period to the end of the Romantic era and into the twentieth century? Exploring the widespread breach of the wall that separated "high" and "low," Steve Newman challenges our current understanding of lyric poetry. He shows how the lesser lyric of the ballad changed lyric poetry as a whole and, in so doing, helped to transform literature from polite writing in general into the body of imaginative writing that became known as the English literary canon. For Newman, the ballad's early lack of prestige actually increased its value for elite authors after 1660. Easily circulated and understood, ballads moved literature away from the exclusive domain of the courtly, while keeping it rooted in English history and culture. Indeed, elite authors felt freer to rewrite and reshape the common speech of the ballad. Newman also shows how the ballad allowed authors to access the "common" speech of the public sphere, while avoiding what they perceived as the unpalatable qualities of that same public's increasingly avaricious commercial society.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Henry Purcell provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of current research into Purcell and the environment of Restoration music, with contributions from leading experts in the field. Seen from the perspective of modern, interdisciplinary approaches to scholarship, the companion allows the reader to develop a rounded view of the environment in which Purcell lived, the people with whom he worked, the social conditions that influenced his activities, and the ways in which the modern perception of him has been affected by reception of his music after his death. In this sense the contributions do not privilege the individual over the environment: rather, they use the modern reader's familiarity with Purcell's music as a gateway into the broader Restoration world. Topics include a reassessment of our understanding of Purcell's sources and the transmission of his music; new ways of approaching the study of his creative methods; performance practice; the multi-faceted theatre environment in which his work was focused in the last five years of his life; the importance of the political and social contexts of late seventeenth-century England; and the ways in which the performance history and reception of his music have influenced modern appreciation of the composer. The book will be essential reading for anyone studying the music and culture of the seventeenth century.

Thomas Durfey's Love for Money (1691) uses a boarding school in Chelsea as the setting for an amusing series of love intrigues. Characters include a long-lost heiress and her impoverished suitor, a mercenary jilt, a libertine rake with a touch of the gull, a bragging French coxcomb, and two hoydenish romps courted by fortune-hunting schoolmasters with treats of custard and cheesecake. An imperious plotting lady, together with her henpecked husband and her rascal lover, provide timely anti-Jacobite satire. This critical edition offers a fully annotated text and an introduction that places the comedy in its literary and theatrical context. The editors review Durfey's career and his redefinition of the comedy of wit, veering towards the exemplary in line with the moral values of the new regime.