Marriage A La Mode

Dryden's audiences in 1671, both aristocratic and middle-class, would have been quick to respond to the themes of disputed royal succession, Francophilia and loyalty among subjects in his most successful tragicomedy. In the tragic plot, written in verse, young Leonidas has to struggle to assert his place as the rightful heir to the throne of Sicily and to the hand of the usurper's daughter. In the comic plot, written in prose, two fashionable couples (much more at home in London drawing-rooms than at the Sicilian court) play at switching partners in the 'modern' style. The introduction of this edition argues that Dryden's own ambivalence about King Charles and his entourage, on whom he came to rely more on more for patronage, manifests itself in both plots; most of all perhaps in the excessively Francophile Melantha, whose affectation cannot quite hide her endearing joie-de-vivre.

William’s heart aches. The pleasure he finds in his work is only a temporary distraction from the pain of being separated from his family, especially his wife. Every Saturday he takes the train down to the new house, full of new servants and Isabel’s Bohemian friends. It’s true that they needed a larger house. And he doesn’t really begrudge her the servants. But the extraordinary thing is that he’d never guessed she was so unhappy. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

This book traces the development of wedding attire from the silver and white brocades of eighteenth-century formal, aristocratic weddings to the elegant crinoline revival of the late 1950s. Whenever possible, Shelley Tobin focuses on gowns and accessories where she can trace the provenance of the wearer, or the maker, to provide a social history of the past 300 years. The accoutrements of the brides reflected the luxury trades of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but it was not until the 1850s that the white wedding became an established tradition. Even then, it was not available to everyone. Although formal, the wedding gown followed fashion and was often recycled as a suitable dress for the first presentation at court as a married woman. Wedding veils, if not passed down through the family, might also be used in another form, particularly as christening robes during the early twentieth century. The trend for producing costume dramas for stage and screen (e.g., Sense and Sensibility directed by Ang Lee, 1995) has seen the recreation of a number of period styles, and these in turn have influenced today's deigners.

Studie over het werk van de Engelse schilder William Hogarth (1697-1764).

The publication of a series of Hogarth's prints was an eagerly awaited event in the 1730s and 1740s, and Marriage A-la-mode was one of the most popular of the great satirist's creations. The particular appeal of these six prints lay in their ingenious depictions of and sardonic comments on a multitude of common iniquities--among them foppery, quackery, xenophobia, arranged marriage, irresponsible parenthood, and a morbid fashion of suicide. Robert L. S. Cowley studies the series in depth, focusing on Hogarth's characteristic ability to tell a story in visual terms.

Rake's Progress, Harlot's Progress, Illustrations for Hudibras, Before and After, Beer Street, and Gin Lane, 96 more. Commentary by Sean Shesgreen.