She Stoops to Conquer (New Mermaids) - Softcover

Oliver Goldsmith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 071366794X ISBN 13: 9780713667943

Publisher: Methuen Drama, 2003

Synopsis

The action of She Stoops to Conquer (1773) is largely confined to a night and a day in Squire Hardcastle's somewhat dilapidated country house: Young Marlow, on his way there to meet the bride his father has chosen for him, loses his way and arrives at the house assuming it is an inn. The prospect of meeting the genteel Miss Hardcastle terrifies the diffident youngster; but the serving-girl Kate - in fact, Miss Hardcastle, who chooses not to clarify the misunderstanding - immediately catches his fancy and cannot complain of a lack of ardour in her well-born suitor. After a series of trifling confusions and the inevitable eavesdropping-from-behind-a-screen, all is resolved so pleasingly that the comedy has been a favourite with amateur and professional companies and their audiences for over 230 years.

About this title

Review

Oliver Goldsmith's comedy was a milestone: yes, it's fast and funny, almost farcical at times, a great night out, and so on, but it's also a psychological masterpiece written at the time when English society began its stately progress towards its admirable class system. Sunday Times "A bomproof comedy...Oliver Goldsmith's play is about the clash between town and country, between varying degrees of pretension." Robert Dawson Scott, The Times, 04.06.08 'Against Sean Crowley's elegant blank canvas of a set, which allows a home to be mistaken for an inn, Goldsmith's themes of class and snobbery unfold with delicious clarity. The performances are both ticklish and sophisticated - the actors step outside the action to address the audience directly - and yet played for traditional laughs and tremendous relish.' Elisabeth Mahoney, Gaurdian, 01 May 2009

From the Back Cover

When the mischievous Tony Lumpkin directs two young gentlemen in need of accommodation to his parent's house, telling them that it is an inn, his practical joke leads to a night of misunderstanding, embarrassment and confusion for all concerned. First staged in 1773, 'She Stoops to Conquer'; or, 'The Mistakes of a Night' quickly established itself as one of the most popular English comedies.

Alistair Sim and Claire Bloom head the cast in a lively performance directed by Howard Sackler.

"I know of no comedy for many years that has so much exhilarated an audience, that has answered so much the great end of comedy – making an audience merry."
SAMUEL JOHNSON

Edition details

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 071366794X
• ISBN 13: 9780713667943
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: James Ogden