The Rover: Revised edition
By (Author) Robyn Bolam
By (author) Aphra Behn
Volume editor Robyn Bolam
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Methuen Drama
1st December 2012
3rd Revised edition
United Kingdom
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
Literary studies: general
822.4
Paperback
176
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 11mm
152g
Carnival time in The Rover is a period when prohibitions are temporarily removed, privileges and rank suspended, and women - from convent girls to courtesans - take the initiative. Featuring multiple plot lines, which deal with the adventures of a group of love-struck Englishmen in Naples, Aphra Behn's play explores issues of love, trickery and deception, forced marriage, male power, fidelity, and the excesses of sexual passion. Hers is a male-dominated society, but one with a clear-sighted portrayal of the female predicament. The play is widely taught on A Level courses as well as on undergraduate literature and women's writing courses. This new edition contains a completely new introduction, and takes into account important criticism from the past decade, as well as a new understanding of the nature of theatre in Behn's time, and the significance of her contribution to English drama.
The editor, Robyn Bolam, is Professor of literature at St Mary's University College, London.