{"product_id":"9781408179895","title":"Country Wife","description":"\u003ch3\u003eNew Mermaids\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eCountry Wife\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWilliam Wycherley | Tiffany Stern | James Ogden\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerforming Arts \/ Theater \/ Playwriting\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis bawdy, hilarious, subversive and wickedly satirical drama pokes fun at the humourless, the jealous, and the adulterous alike. It features a country wife, Margery, whose husband believes she is too naïve to cuckold him; and an anti-hero, Horner, who pretends to be impotent in order to have unrestrained access to the women keen on 'the sport'. A number of licentious and hypocritical women request Horner's services – the country wife among them.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Country Wife\u003c\/i\u003e has provoked powerfully mixed reactions over the years. The seventeenth century libertine king Charles II saw it twice, and is said to have joined the 'dance of the cuckolds' at the end of one performance; the eighteenth century actor-playwright David Garrick declared it 'the most licentious play in the English language'; the Victorian Macaulay compared it to a skunk, because it was 'too filthy to handle and too noisome even to approach'. Twentieth century productions heralded it a Restoration masterpiece. Sexually frank, and as ready to criticise marriage as infidelity, the virtuosity, linguistic energy, brilliant wit, naughtiness and complexity of this ribald play have made it a staple of the modern stage.   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This student edition contains a lengthy, entirely new introduction, by leading scholar, Tiffany Stern, with a background on the author, structure, characters, genre, themes, original staging and performance history, as well as an updated bibliography and a fully annotated version of the playtext.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTiffany Stern\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Early Modern Drama at University College, University of Oxford, UK. She is one of the General Editors of the New Mermaid series, and she has also edited two plays in the series - Sheridan's\u003ci\u003e The Rivals\u003c\/i\u003e (2004) and Farquhar's \u003ci\u003eThe Recruiting Officer\u003c\/i\u003e (2010).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames Ogden\u003c\/b\u003e is Editor of \u003ci\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer\u003c\/i\u003e for the New Mermaids series and a former Senior Lecturer in English at Aberystwyth University, UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e10 April 2014\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMethuen Drama\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781408179895\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e184\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e6.24\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51965639688332,"sku":"9781408179895","price":13.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_30a75bb9-bfb3-4374-bb6e-d3d3981fe70e.jpg?v=1786070875","url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9781408179895","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}