The Way of the World

These paperback editions of classic plays provide texts, notes and critical material for the A-level and university student that are also suitable for the general reader. Here another edition to add to the series list. Introductions place the plays in their historical, social and theatrical context; commentary notes give information on language and staging. This is the best known of all Restoration comedies which enjoys great success on the modern stage - as much for its surprisingly splendid farce as for the elegance, wit and passion of its main characters, most of them women. The hero and heroine, Mirabell and Millamant, have to survive intrigue, envy and the foolish behaviour of Millamant's guardian, Lady Wishfort, to emerge from a series of tangled situations. Brian Gibbons is Professor of English Literature at University of Munster and general editor of the New Mermaid series and of the Cambridge Shakespeare.