18 books like The Rivals

What to read after The Rivals — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

An Ideal Husband Oscar Wilde · 1899 · ★ 4.4 · 116p · ≈ 3h · Challenging An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place over the course of twenty-four hours. "Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely… Shares: Promptbooks, British and irish drama, English drama, English literature

Love's Labour's Lost William Shakespeare · 1891 · ★ 3.5 King Ferdinand and his three friends, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, plan to study philosophy for the next three years. During their academic pursuits, they must vow to sleep only three hours a night and not let any woman within a mile of court. These strict rules will prevent any distractions from their work—but their promises are soon put to the test when a princess and her three companions… Shares: Comedies, British and irish drama, English literature, Drama

The Alchemist, 1612 Ben Jonson · 1612 · ★ 3.4 · 254p · ≈ 8h · Demanding Samuel Taylor Coleridge said of Ben Jonson's _The Alchemist_ that it had one out of the three most perfect plots in literature. This play, with its sharp portrayal of human folly, is considered by many to be Jonson's best comedy. First performed 1610, its popularity has endured to this day. Shares: Comedies, British and irish drama, English drama, Drama

Candida George Bernard Shaw · 1905 · ★ 3.7 · 42p · ≈ 1h · Challenging The Reverend James Mavor Morell, a respectable socialist clergyman, spends his days giving lectures and sermons while his wife, Candida, sees to his comfortable London home. That home is disrupted by the arrival of the poet Eugene Marchbanks, who is in love with Candida and determined to rescue her from what he sees as an unromantic life. Shaw wrote Candida as a reaction to Henrik Ibsen’s social… Shares: British and irish drama, English drama, Drama

Arthurian drama Alan Lupack · 1991 · 356p · ≈ 11h · Moderate This anthology reproduces six plays based on stories of King Arthur from a variety of periods. Originally published in 1991, it offers a comprehensive discussion of Arthurian Drama in introduction and also provides an appendix listing printed scripts in English that address Arthurian legend. Shares: English, English drama, Drama

Henry V William Shakespeare · 1800 · 130p · ≈ 4h · Challenging Written by William Shakespeare around 1599, The Life of Henry the Fifth, more commonly known as Henry V, chronicles the later history of King Henry the Fifth of England and his efforts during Hundred Years’ War to reclaim disputed territories in France. The play starts with Henry’s claims to be the rightful heir to the French throne and, after his invasion of France, culminates with his famous… Shares: Promptbooks, British and irish drama, English literature, Drama

Arms and the Man George Bernard Shaw · 1898 · ★ 3.8 · 100p · ≈ 3h · Challenging Arms and the Man was George Bernard Shaw's first commercially successful play. It is a comedy about idealized love versus true love. A young Serbian woman idealizes her war-hero fiance and thinks the Swiss soldier who begs her to hide him a terrible coward. After the war she reverses her opinions, though the tangle of relationships must be resolved before her ex-soldier can conclude the last of… Shares: Promptbooks, British and irish drama, English drama, Drama

King Henry VIII William Shakespeare · 1670 · ★ 3.5 · 136p · ≈ 4h · Demanding "This is the first fully annotated and comprehensive modern-spelling edition of King Henry VIII - known in its early performances as All is True - for over ten years. It makes full use of current scholarship on the dating, authorship, printing, and sources of the play, as well as critical interpretations, and includes an up-to-date survey of the play in performance. It is the first edition to… Shares: British and irish drama, English, English drama, English literature

The misfortunes of Arthur Thomas Hughes · 1900 · ★ 3.7 · 49p · ≈ 1h · Challenging This book contains images of pages from the 16th-century play titled "The Misfortunes of Arthur" by Thomas Hughes and fellow members of Grays Inn. Shares: English drama, History and criticism, Drama

Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw · 1912 · ★ 3.9 · 134p · ≈ 4h · Challenging Pygmalion is a play by George Bernard Shaw, named after a Greek mythological figure. It was first presented on stage to the public in 1913. ---------- Also contained in: Collected Plays with their Prefaces: Volume IV Complete Plays with Prefaces: Volume I [Four Plays by Bernard Shaw][1] Plays Portable Bernard Shaw [Pygmalion and Major Barbara][2] [Pygmalion and My Fair… Shares: Comedies, British and irish drama, Drama

The Lands of the Saracen Bayard Taylor · 1854 · 451p · ≈ 15h · Challenging This volume comprises the second portion of a series of travels. This work includes author's adventure travels in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Sicily and Spain. Shares: Description and travel, Travel

Journey Without Maps Graham Greene · 1936 · 249p · ≈ 8h · Challenging This is an account of a trip Graham Greene made in 1935 with his cousin, Barbara Greene, through the previously unexplored interior of Liberia. It was an extremely uncomfortable journey, with Greene falling seriously ill halfway through the trip. Possibly as a result of this he also made a point of noting the many illnesses with which the local inhabitants were assailed, particularly malaria and… Shares: Description and travel, Travel

A View from the Bridge Arthur Miller · 1955 · ★ 3.7 · 104p · ≈ 3h · Moderate In A View from the Bridge Arthur Miller explores the intersection between one man's self-delusion and the brutal trajectory of fate. Eddie Carbone is a Brooklyn longshoreman, a hard-working man whose life has been soothingly predictable. He hasn't counted on the arrival of two of his wife's relatives, illegal immigrants from Italy; nor has he recognized his true feelings for his beautiful niece,… Shares: Scripts, English drama, Drama

Ann Radcliffe Romanticism And The Gothic Dale Townshend · 2014 · 274p · ≈ 9h · Moderate "This book offers unique and fresh perspectives upon the literary productions of one of the most highly remunerated and widely admired authors of the Romantic period, Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823). While drawing upon, consolidating and enriching the critical impulses reflected in Radcliffe scholarship to date, this collection of essays, composed by a range of renowned scholars of the Romantic period,… Shares: English, Criticism and interpretation, History and criticism, English literature

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe · 1609 · ★ 3.8 · 91p · ≈ 3h · Demanding Marlowe's play has two different recognized texts, with most editions based on the B text. Due to recent arguments for the authenticity of A, this edition is based on the A text. It includes a discussion of biographical, dramatic and theatrical aspects of the play. Shares: British and irish drama, English drama, Criticism and interpretation, Drama

Measure for Measure William Shakespeare · 1700 In the Duke's absence, a cruel regent condemns a noble to death under an old law against fornication. When his sister pleads for his life, the regent basely bargains for her virginity, but the Duke restores justice. Shares: Promptbooks, English drama, English literature, Drama

All's Well That Ends Well William Shakespeare · 1734 · ★ 3.6 · 124p · ≈ 4h · Demanding "For this updated edition, Alexander Leggatt has written a wholly new introduction to Russell Fraser's edition of one of Shakespeare's most puzzling, ambiguous and demanding plays. Leggatt's interest in performance informs his introduction and his account of the instability of the main characters. He offers a full, illustrated and thoughtful account of the play's critical and theatrical fortunes… Shares: British and irish drama, English drama, History and criticism, Travel

Works [37 plays, 5 poems, sonnets] William Shakespeare · 1794 · 1376p · ≈ 45h · Demanding Shares: Comedies, English drama, Criticism and interpretation, Drama Shares: Comedies, English drama, Criticism and interpretation, Drama

About the book The Rivals →