The Man of Mode: New Edition

(Paperback, 3rd edition)

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Arguably the most perfectly poised of Restoration wit comedies, The Man of Mode is a finished exercise in dramatic sprezzatura, or nonchalance, matching the beguiling easiness and complaisance of its central character. The play's imaginative brilliance depends upon its author's ability to hint at the dark abyss of passion and emotional violence at whose edge the modish denizens of the town perform their graceful ballet. Its seemingly casual construction and wanton breaches of comic decorum mask a ferocious artistic control designed to upset the complacency of the audiences moral, social and aesthetic assumptions by luring them into sympathy for a character whose dangerous wildness they ought to deplore. It is at once among the funniest and the most unsettling of comedies in English. The full, modernized play text is accompanied by incisive commentary notes, while its engaging introduction unpacks the complexity of the Restorations political and theatrical context, analyses the plays performance history (including Nicholas Hytners 2007 modern-dress version) and demonstrates Ethereges linguistic finesse. This edition is supplemented by a plot summary and an annotated bibliography. The New Mermaids plays offer: Modernized versions of the play text edited to the highest textual standards Fully annotated student editions with obscure words explained and critical, contextual and staging insight provided on each page Full Introductions analyzing context, themes, author background and stage history

Author Bio

Michael Neillis Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Auckland. He is the author of Issues of Death (1997) and Putting History to the Question (2000). He has edited Anthony and Cleopatra (1994) and Othello (2006) for the Oxford Shakespeare, Middleton and Rowleys The Changeling (2006) for New Mermaids, Massingers The Renegado (2010) for Arden Early Modern Drama, and Kyds The Spanish Tragedy (2013) for Norton Critical editions. He is currently preparing Websters The Duchess of Malfi for Norton, and co-editing The Oxford Handbook to Shakespearean Tragedy (with David Schalkwyk).