Moliere: A Theatrical Life

By Virginia Scott

Book Overview

In this biography, first published in 2000, Virginia Scott locates Moli?re's life and work in the social, literary and theatrical contexts of the period. She offers a narrative account of his life and an overview of his plays in the wider setting of the development of seventeenth-century French drama. Her research extends from Moli?re's boyhood and his Jesuit education at the Coll?ge de Clermont, through the beginning of his theatrical career in Paris and as a vagabond actor in the provinces, to his days as a court dramatist under Louis XIV. He was a controversial playwright, striking out against hypocrisy in religion and medicine, and finally a cynical survivor of the literary, cultural, and marital wars. This full-length biography will appeal to the general reader as well as specialists in French and Theatre Studies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521012384
• ISBN13: 9780521012386
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Moliere Book Review

This is a good modern review of Moliere's life. Although the movie "Moliere" is excellent in its treatment of the subject, this book helps one understand Moliere's complicated life in theater a little better.

Overall a good book.

I am a passionate fan of Moliere, so I was quite excited when I ordered this book. Scott does a good job of going over the controversies in his life, as well as letting the reader know when the historical sources fail to shed enough light on important issues in his career. There is however quite a bit of tedious information about circumstances of his time, as well as being written in a style much more personal and informal than I would have expected from Cambridge publishers. Sometimes she takes liberties about his life and motives. The book has pictures inside, and a wealth of quotes that are also available in their native French at the back of the book which I really enjoyed reading in both languages. Overall, this book is a great start to the life of one of the greatest satirists of all time in English.