The Rover and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics)

Aphra Behn (1640-89) was both successful and controversial in her own lifetime; her achievements are now recognized less equivocally and her plays, often revived, demonstrate wit, compassion and remarkable range. This edition brings together her most important comedies in a single volume: The Rover, her best-known play; The Feigned Courtesans, a lively comedy of intrigue; The Lucky Chance, a comedy with a bitter edge, which takes a satirical look at marriage customs; and the dazzling and popular farce, The Emperor of the Moon. All the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Well-laid out text, excellent foreward

By "katie_poet" - November 15, 1999

Recently introduced to the works of Aphra Behn, I found this collection to be an excellently laid out edition of some of her plays. The print is friendly to the eye (many collections of Restoration drama are not) and easy to read. I can only speak for "The Rover", as I have not had the time to read the rest of the plays. However, I found the notes and the forewards to the plays to be informative and easy to follow. It must be said that the notes were contained in the back of the book, as opposed to the bottom of the page; that was a bit of an irritant, especially when reading a crucial scene. On the whole however, I give this book a thumbs up!

Great text, frustrating format.

By C. Stroud - October 26, 2005

The text is fabulous. Providing access to an underappreciated female writer is desperately needed. The modernized spelling is wonderfully accessible. But using endnotes rather than footnotes to explain all unusual words, references, etc. is unbelievably frustrating. And not even endnotes after each play - endnotes at the end of the book! I am dizzy from flipping back and forth several times each page to the end of the book.