Phaedra and Other Plays by Racine
Phaedra, which Voltaire called 'the masterpiece of the human mind', is the greatest of the plays of Jean Racine (1639-99).
In this sombre tragedy of the guilty passion of Theseus's queen for her stepson, Hippolytus, Racine again chose a pagan plot to express that amoral ruthlessness which shocked French conservatives. (Iphigenia had similarly been based on Agamemnon's terrible conflict over his daughter's sacrifice.) But he was already swinging back to religion, and Athaliah, his final play, was built on an Old Testament story.
This new translation by John Cairncross renders the original French into modern English blank verse.
Format: Paperback | 320 pages
Dimensions (cm): 18 x 11.2 x 1.7 | 180g
Publication Date: 1963
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication City/Country: Middlesex, United Kingdom
Language: English
Edition Number: 1
Condition: Good
A vintage book that has been read but is in good condition. Some minor damage to the cover including minor scuff marks, creasing and scratches, but no holes or tears. The majority of pages are undamaged with very minimal creasing but no tearing. No pencil underlining of text, no highlighting of text, no writing in margins. There is some discolouring due to age. No missing pages.