Comedy PDF EPUB Audio

The Country Wife

Downloads: Under 100
First published: 1675
Pages: 154

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3 h 34 min · 5 parts

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Act 1
33:39
Act 2
35:32
Act 3
42:27
Act 4
56:29
Act 5
46:51

The Country Wife (1893) is a public domain work.

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About this book

First staged in 1675, Wycherley's comedy remains one of the most notorious plays of the Restoration stage, admired for its wit and condemned for its indecency in almost equal measure. The rake Horner spreads a false rumor that he has been left impotent, a ruse that lets him move freely among the wives of jealous husbands who no longer see him as a threat. Around this scheme Wycherley builds a sharp satire of London society, marriage, and reputation, capped by the celebrated 'china' scene that scandalized audiences for generations. Beneath the bawdy humor sits a genuinely bleak view of appetite and hypocrisy. This free PDF and EPUB edition offers a classic of English comic theater.

About the author

William Wycherley

William Wycherley (1641-1716) was an English dramatist of the Restoration, known for a handful of brilliant, biting comedies. Educated in France and at Oxford, he won the favor of Charles II's court, and his sharp social satires, especially The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer, secured his lasting reputation.

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