The Miser and Other Plays: A New Selection [Paperback]

This volume of Moliere's dramatic commentaries on society presentsThe Miser, a misguided hero who obsessively disrupts the lives of those around him.The School for Wivesis newly translated for this edition and was fiercely denounced as impious and vulgar. Moliere's response to his detractors becameThe School for Wives Criticized. Even more alarming to critics was his version ofDon Juan. InThe Hypochondriac, he produced an outrageous expose of medicine.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Molierewas the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). His plays achieved great success, especially his masterpiece,The Misanthrope, and elicited enormous controversy with their religious irreverence.

John Woodwas born in 1900 and went to Manchester University. After some years in teaching and adult education he spent his working life in educational administration. Concern with the relevance of the arts in education, combined with personal predilection, led to involvement with the theatre and with the work of Molière in particular, as producer and translator. He also translatedThe Misanthrope and Other PlaysandThe Miser and Other Playsfor Penguin Classics.

David Cowardis Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Leeds, England. He won a Scott-Moncrieff prize for his edition of Albert Cohen'sBelle du Seigneur.GB