Britannicus · Phaedra · Athaliah (The World's Classics)

Racine, Jean; Sisson, C. H. (Tr.)

ISBN 10: 0192510371 / ISBN 13: 9780192510372

Published by Oxford University Press, Great Britain, 1987

About this Item

NF / NF. 1st Printing of the 1987 World's Classics hard cover1st Edition thus, translated, with introduction and notes, by C. H. Sisson. Book is straight, square, securely bound and free of markings and blemishes. Cover and unclipped Dust Jacket (still showing original GBP £15 price) are clean and bright, with sharp corners and joints, straight heads, tails, spine / backstrip, hinges and edges, boldly legible lettering and crisply distinct design and artwork. (Please see Seller images). ISBN 0192510371. ShiroBooks, independent bookseller, takes pride in accurate descriptions, careful wrapping and safe shipping. CONTACT SHIROBOOKS PRIOR TO ORDERING if any questions or for more information, details or photos.

Seller Inventory # 004050

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Britannicus · Phaedra · Athaliah (The World's Classics)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Great Britain
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0192510371
• ISBN 13: 9780192510372
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Jean Racine (1639-99) remains to this day the greatest of French poetic dramatists. Britannicus (1669), the first play in this volume, takes its themes from Roman history: the setting is the bloody and treacherous court of the Emperor Nero. Phaedra (1677) dramatizes the Greek myth of Phaedra's doomed love for her stepson Hippolytus. Athaliah (1691), Racine's last and perhaps finest play, draws on the Old Testament story of Athaliah, Queen of Judah and worshipper of Baal, who is threatened and finally forced to concede victory to Joash, a son of the house of David and survivor of Athaliah's massacres. Racine's tragedies portray characters wrestling with ambition, treachery, religion, and love. In this translation, specially commissioned for The World's Classics series, C.H. Sisson has captured the lucidity of Racine's language, both analytic and passionate, and the rhythm of his four-part Alexandrine.

Review

Sisson's translation of the dramas is admirable. It is an accurate and sensitive rendition of the French text. The simple and flowing English creates a version which reads well and should succeed in performance too. (Akroterion)