ABSTRACT

Racine the practising dramatist had been in some danger of being crowded out from the numerous books on his psychology and style.

In this critical study of the man and his work, first published in 1951 and this slightly revised edition originally in 1973, Dr Brereton’s guiding principle has been to make the factual basis as accurate as it can be in the light of modern research. The result is the portrait of a sensitive and attractive figure which is none the worse for being shorn of certain legends.

part I|48 pages

The Varied Prospect

chapter Chapter I|12 pages

Boyhood and Port-Royal

chapter Chapter II|13 pages

Paris and the Vitarts

chapter Chapter III|22 pages

Uzès

part II|190 pages

Through the Jungle

chapter Chapter IV|11 pages

The Theatre in 1663

chapter Chapter V|14 pages

Racine's Debut

La Thébaïde and Alexandre

chapter Chapter VI|11 pages

The Break with Port-Royal

chapter Chapter VII|9 pages

Andromaque

chapter Chapter VIII|15 pages

Life and Death of the Du Parc

Les Plaideurs

chapter Chapter IX|9 pages

The Challenge of Corneille

chapter Chapter X|12 pages

The Assault on Corneille

Britannicus

chapter Chapter XI|13 pages

The Defeat of Corneille

Bérénice

chapter Chapter XII|26 pages

Patrons, Friends and Lovers

chapter Chapter XIII|15 pages

A Turkish Interlude

Bajazet

chapter Chapter XIV|20 pages

The Fruits of Success

Mithridate, Iphigenie

chapter Chapter XV|16 pages

The Quarrel of Phèdre

chapter Chapter XVI|18 pages

Thèdke

part III|100 pages

The Promised Land

chapter Chapter XVII|15 pages

Towards Security

chapter Chapter XVIII|23 pages

The Dramatist Re-Born

Esther and Athalie

chapter Chapter XIX|13 pages

The Eternal Theatre

chapter Chapter XX|21 pages

The Bourgeois Years Family and Religion

chapter Chapter XXI|12 pages

The Last Phase

chapter Chapter XXII|15 pages

The Originality of Racine