The Unforseen Return

Jean-François RegnardProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 37K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Unforseen Return by Jean François RegnardAuthor: Regnard, Jean François, 1655-1709,Language: English, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Nov 1, 2003

Editor's review

The Unforseen Return is a play by the French playwright Jean François Regnard (1655–1709), released free in English electronic form by Project Gutenberg. Regnard was one of the leading figures of seventeenth-century French comedy, and his work is known for ingenious plotting and lively dialogue; this play exemplifies the classical comic method of driving the plot through misunderstanding, coincidence, and mistaken identity. As a public-domain ebook, its greatest value lies in its extremely low barrier to access: without buying a physical book, readers can engage directly with a primary text of seventeenth-century French drama, making it suitable as an introduction to Western theater history, French literature, or classical comic structure. When reading, it is best treated as a performable script rather than a novel; paying attention to act and scene divisions, entrance and exit cues, and the rhythm of the lines will give a fuller sense of the comedy's theatrical quality. Because this is an early electronic scan or transcription, the layout and notes may be fairly plain, and readers will need to supply their own knowledge of the author's life and historical background to better understand the play's social context and the targets of its humor.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers interested in seventeenth-century French drama and classical comedy
Students taking courses in Western theater history or comparative literature who need primary-source material
Theater enthusiasts who want a free public-domain script for reading aloud or stage study
Readers who wish to learn about Regnard's comic style and broaden their reading in French literature

Not a good fit for

General readers who prefer the narrative pace of modern fiction and are unfamiliar with play format
Advanced researchers who need detailed notes, introductions, and scholarly editions
Readers with limited English proficiency who would struggle with classical dramatic dialogue

Reading tips

Begin with the list of characters and scene descriptions to clarify relationships before entering the dialogue; this noticeably lowers the difficulty.
Read act by act and, after each act, review how misunderstanding and coincidence advance the plot to appreciate the comic structure.
Try reading aloud in roles, using the rhythm of the lines to sense the stage effects of seventeenth-century French comedy.
Supplement the reading with background on Regnard's life and French classical drama to help understand the play's humor.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in English or French?

According to Project Gutenberg, the ebook is listed as English, so it is the English version of Regnard's play; the original is a seventeenth-century French comedy. To study the style of the original language, you will need to find a French edition for comparison.

Can I understand it without experience reading plays?

It is accessible as an introduction, but you will need to get used to the script format. Start with the list of characters and scene cues, move through the acts in order, and imagine the lines as dialogue on stage; the difficulty will drop noticeably.

Does this ebook include notes and an introduction?

Project Gutenberg public-domain ebooks generally focus on presenting the text, with limited notes and introductions. For a deeper understanding of the historical background and references in the play, it is advisable to read alongside materials on French classical drama or a scholarly edition of the script.

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About the author

Jean-François Regnard Author · French · 1655–1709

Jean-François Regnard (1655–1709) was a French comic playwright, born in Paris and died at Grillon Castle. In his youth he travelled widely across Europe and was at one point captured by Algerian pirates and held as a slave, an episode that remains one of the best-known aspects of his life. From 1688 onward he wrote for the Italian Comedy and the Comédie-Française. His representative works include The Gambler, The Absent-Minded Man and The Twin Brothers, as well as The Universal Heir, regarded as his masterpiece. His comedies are noted for ingenious plotting and lively language, and he has often been called the finest comic poet after Molière. Three of his works are held in this collection—The Unforseen Return, The McNaughtens and The Follies of Love—showing that his comic subjects often revolve around family misunderstandings, disputes over property and human folly; public information on his education and teachers is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.