Book Cover of A Night Off; or A Page From Balzac

A Night Off; or A Page From Balzac

by Augustin Daly

There are a number of subplots going on in this play. The Professor has unearthed a play that he wrote back in his University days. He has read it to his housekeeper while his wife was away at the expensive spa ... she disapproves of the theatre ... and said housekeeper was so fascinated by it that when a travelling dramatic troupe manager lobs into town, the Professor is receptive to the manager's manipulative and unscrupulous offer to put on his play. Meanwhile, one of the Professor's daughters (Angelica) has chanced across a page from Balzac which states "Every bride that lives if she could but know the past and secret life of her husband would renounce him even at the steps of the altar.". Her husband, a real Boy Scout of a man, gets sick and tired of her pestering him to "reveal his sordid past" to her, and substitutes the actual past of his visiting University buddy, so that she'll leave off. His wife is then so enraptured by her vanilla husband's supposed womaniser past that.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1885

Authors

Augustin Daly image

Augustin Daly

United States

John Augustin Daly was one of the most influential men in American theatre during his lifetime. Drama critic, theatre manager, playwright, and adapter, he became the first recognized stage director in...

Books by Augustin Daly

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

A Bold Stroke for a Husband Cover image

A Bold Stroke for a Husband by Hannah Cowley

It is a Restoration comedy, a genre of play that was popular in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, characterized by its witty dialogue...

The Village Coquettes  Cover image

The Village Coquettes by Charles Dickens

It is a short play in two acts with musical numbers interspersed throughout. Think of it as akin to an episode of a modern sitcom with music ... mindl...

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes  Cover image

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos

The story follows the dalliances of a young blonde gold-digger named Lorelei Lee "in the bathtub-gin era of American history." Published the same year...

The Busie Body Cover image

The Busie Body by Susanna Centlivre

The Busie Body is a Restoration comedy written by Susanna Centlivre and first performed at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1709. It focuses on the legalitie...

The Fairy Lady Cover image

The Fairy Lady by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

The Fairy Lady is a play written by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, a Spanish Baroque playwright and poet. The play was first performed in 1629, and it is...

Down The Line with John Henry Cover image

Down The Line with John Henry by Hugh McHugh

It follows the misadventures of John Henry, a hapless character who is constantly getting into trouble due to his own foolishness. McHugh's writing st...

Menaechmi; or, The Twin Brothers Cover image

Menaechmi; or, The Twin Brothers by Titus Maccius Plautus

The story revolves around twin brothers who were separated at birth and raised in different cities. One of the brothers, Menaechmus, travels to the ci...

Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines Cover image

Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines by Clyde Fitch

It tells the story of a young woman named Betsy Trotwood who becomes infatuated with a handsome young soldier named Captain Jinks. The play was first...

The Two Noble Kinsmen  Cover image

The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare

The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Jacobean tragicomedy and attributed jointly to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's T...

mandragola Cover image

mandragola by Niccolò Machiavelli

Mandragola is a satirical comedy written by Niccolò Machiavelli in the early 16th century. The play revolves around the cunning schemes of Callimaco,...

Reviews for A Night Off; or A Page From Balzac

No reviews posted or approved, yet...