Marmontel and Demoustier, Le Misanthrope corrigé: Two Eighteenth-Century Sequels to Molière’s ‘Le Misanthrope’
Edited by Joseph Harris
Critical Texts 65•31 May 2019
- ‘This volume is an important addition to the corpus of Molière reception in the Enlightenment. The arc of Le Misanthrope’s reception can be traced back to the play’s first appearance with critical responses such as Donneau de Visé’s Lettre écrite sur la comédie du Misanthrope; but this new comparative and elucidating edition of two eighteenth-century sequels will encourage scholars and students to encompass a wider range of texts in their reflections on Molière’s audiences and adaptors.’ — Suzanne Jones, H-France 20.54, April 2020
- ‘Harris’s Introduction is essential reading. It provides a nuanced and fine-grained analysis of the two treatments, placing them into the context of the respective authors’ careers and the wider context of eighteenth-century ideas... the volume is a very welcome publication and is sure to be of great interest to a wide audience interested in Molière and his literary posterity.’ — Mark Darlow, Modern Language Review 115.4, October 2020, 917-18 (full text online)
Louis-Sébastien Mercier, Le Vieillard et ses trois filles and Timon d’Athènes: Two Shakespeare Adaptations
Edited by Joseph Harris
Critical Texts 82•13 March 2023
- ‘Mercier was a highly experienced playwright, and his adaptations offer readers a chance both to see Shakespeare through Mercier’s eyes and to appreciate Mercier’s own understanding of national culture, dramatic heroes, stagecraft, and the French Revolution. It is all the easier for readers to do this in Harris’s edition, which includes a wealth of helpful footnotes and a well-judged introduction that touches upon many important points without overwhelming the reader.’ — James Harriman-Smith, Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 46.3, 2023, 311-97 (full text online)
- ‘In the Introduction, Harris locates the two plays within the author’s career, and associates them with the cultural, literary, and political issues of late eighteenth-century France. The Notes register in detail the numerous parallels as well as the differences between Shakespeare’s and Mercier’s plays, thus inviting and generously anticipating the comparative study of both... It is to be hoped that with this new edition of a moving and politically interesting play, Mercier’s Timon d’Athènes, hitherto largely ignored, will re-enter the collective memory of French and English readers.’ — Ina Schabert, Translation and Literature 32, 2023, 379-83 (full text online)
Aphra Behn's Emperor of the Moon and its French Source Arlequin, Empereur dans la lune
Edited by Judy A. Hayden and Daniel J. Worden
Critical Texts 67•31 May 2019
Edward Kimber, The Happy Orphans
Edited by Jan Herman and Beatrijs Vanacker
Critical Texts 29•1 June 2015
La poética de Lorenzo de Zamora: una apología de la literatura secular
Edited by Ascensión Rivas Hernández
Critical Texts 55•24 March 2020
- ‘This edition will doubtless be of use to scholars of humanist and baroque poetic theory and, more generally, to anyone with an interest in the survival and tradition of classical authors in the Spanish language.’ — Jesús-M. Nieto Ibáñez, Modern Language Review 117.3, July 2022, 507-08 (full text online)
- ‘Este nuevo volumen de la MHRA Critical Texts, el número 55, contribuirá, sin duda, a ampliar el conocimiento de un autor no demasiado atendido y de una obra que llegará a nuevos lectores a partir de esta cuidada edición, del detallado y explicativo estudio introductorio que la antecede y la bibliografía asimismo completa que aporta.’ — Carina Zubillaga, Bulletin of Spanish Studies February 2022 (full text online)
William Webbe, A Discourse of English Poetry (1586)
Edited by Sonia Hernández-Santano
Critical Texts 47•4 March 2016
- ‘William Webbe’s A Discourse of English Poetry, the ‘first published treatise exclusively dedicated to the theory of poetry’ in England but not edited in full in over a century, is conveniently presented in Sonia Herna ́ndez-Santano’s edition. She provides us with an extensively glossed and annotated modern-spelling text that situates Webbe’s treatise both in its early modern context and in terms of contemporary scholarship... Hopefully Herna ́ndez-Santano’s fine treatment of Webbe’s Discourse will inspire editions of other such fascinating early modern poetic treatises.’ — Sarah Case, Review of English Studies Advance Access 4 October 2016
- ‘Webbe will be well served by the ready availability of a modernized text, and by the detailed introduction... The materials are here for a fuller reintegration of Webbe’s Discourse into our understanding of Elizabethan humanism, poetics, and cultures of reading.’ — Michael Hetherington, Spenser Review 47.1.14, Winter 2017
- ‘Sonia Hernández-Santano’s edition of William Webbe’s 'A Discourse of English Poetry (1586)', is an unexpected treasure: an affordable, well-introduced, paperback edition of a text companionate to George Gascoigne’s, George Puttenham’s, and Philip Sidney’s discourses on poetry and poetics.’ — Katherine Eggert, English Literature 57, 2017, 183
La Disme de Penitanche by Jehan de Journi
Edited by Glynn Hesketh
Critical Texts 7•2 October 2006
- ‘Au total, on se trouve devant une production éminemment estimable, dont il faut féliciter l'auteur ... On voudrait qu'il en fût plus souvent ainsi.’ — Claude Thiry, Les Lettres Romanes 61.1/2, 2007, 154
- ‘Students of vernacular penitential texts will welcome this edition, particularly as the editor provides extensive explanatory notes, interspersed with comments of linguistic interest.’ — Leslie C. Brook, Modern Language Review 103.2, 2008, 531 (full text online)
- ‘[Hesketh's] edition of La Disme de Penitanche cannot but become a joy to read, a philologist's delight!’ — Max Walkley, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 29.1, 2008, 55
Les Paraboles Maistre Alain en Françoys
Edited by Tony Hunt
Critical Texts 2•30 June 2005
- ‘The reader now has a reliable text of the Paraboles ... Alan of Lille’s collection, whether in Latin or in French, was an important work, both for the later Middle Ages and for the humanistic learning of the Renaissance, and it can now be studied both as a work in its own right and as part of the cultural life of its time.’ — Glyn S. Burgess, Modern Language Review 101.4, 2006, 1107 (full text online)
- ‘An interesting addition for our knowledge of paroemiological literature ... As one would expect from such a prolific and experienced scholar as Tony Hunt, the Introduction covers in an efficient and scholarly manner all the essential questions relating to the text he prints.’ — Max Walkley, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 27.2, 2006, 47-48
- ‘L'analyse perspicace de Tony Hunt montre comment les choix différents opérés par les deux imprimeurs pour ce qui concerne la mise en page orientent la lecture du recueil ... Il s'agit dans l'ensemble d'une excellente édition...’ — Maria Colombo Timelli, Medium Aevum 75, 2006, 175
Ovide du remede d'amours
Edited by Tony Hunt
Critical Texts 15•1 February 2008
- ‘This is a most carefully presented and legible edition ... The Notes themselves are rich in linguistic, literary and mythological information and useful commentary on salient translation techniques. A Glossary and Table of Proper Names complete this elegant edition.’ — J. Keith Atkinson, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 30.1, 2009, 45-46
Letzte Chancen: Vier Einakter von Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Edited by Susanne Kord
Critical Texts 3•1 October 2005
- ‘Meticulously edited ... In her informative and very readable introductory essays, Kord traces Ebner-Eschenbach’s development and reception as a dramatist, and presents the individual plays in an engaging manner.’ — Ulrike Tanzer, Austrian Studies 14, 2006, 354-56 (full text online)
- ‘A welcome addition, making accessible some of the lesser-known dramas in a helpfully annotated format, and shed[ding] fresh light on E-E.’ — Barbara Burns, The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies 66, 2007
- ‘These important editions of little-known dramas by the Austrian author Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) are vital for anyone who wants to research and teach beyond the canon. They are the result of arduous editorial work and are meticulously annotated by Susanne Kord ... These volumes are likely to provoke much future research on Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach; they provide stimulating analyses of the texts and detailed notes and bibliographies. In addition, they are such good value that they can be easily included on undergraduate reading-lists.’ — Charlotte Woodford, Modern Language Review 102, 2007, 1182-84 (full text online)
Macht des Weibes: Zwei historische Tragödien von Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Edited by Susanne Kord
Critical Texts 4•5 December 2005
- ‘In her informative and very readable introductory essays, Kord traces Ebner-Eschenbach’s development and reception as a dramatist, and presents the individual plays in an engaging manner. The perspective is particularly illuminating and subtly differentiated in the case of the two historical tragedies, Maria Stuart in Schottland and Marie Roland.’ — Ulrike Tanzer, Austrian Studies 14, 2006, 354-56 (full text online)
- ‘A welcome addition, making accessible some of the lesser-known dramas in a helpfully annotated format, and shed[ding] fresh light on E-E.’ — Barbara Burns, The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies 66, 2007
- ‘These important editions of little-known dramas by the Austrian author Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) are vital for anyone who wants to research and teach beyond the canon. They are the result of arduous editorial work and are meticulously annotated by Susanne Kord ... These volumes are likely to provoke much future research on Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach; they provide stimulating analyses of the texts and detailed notes and bibliographies. In addition, they are such good value that they can be easily included on undergraduate reading-lists.’ — Charlotte Woodford, Modern Language Review 102, 2007, 1182-84 (full text online)
Istoire de la Chastelaine du Vergier
Edited by Jean-François Kosta-Théfaine
Critical Texts 9•6 July 2009
Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron, Le Cosmopolite, ou le citoyen du monde (1750)
Edited by Édouard Langille
Critical Texts 22•14 June 2010
Agostino Valier, Instituzione d'ogni stato lodevole delle donne cristiane
Edited by Francesco Lucioli
Critical Texts 43•1 June 2015
Abraham Fraunce, The Shepherds' Logic and Other Dialectical Writings
Edited by Zenón Luis-Martínez
Critical Texts 46•29 April 2016
- ‘Luis-Martínez gives as rigorous and detailed an account of the work’s genesis and immediate context as most readers could possibly wish for, offering much greater precision about Fraunce’s sources than earlier studies have been willing or able to provide... Fraunce has found a well-informed and sympathetic editor who can guide readers through what will be, to most, the unappealing thickets of humanistic logic, and direct their attention, instead, to the instructive value of this idiosyncratic Elizabethan voice.’ — Michael Hetherington, Spenser Review 47.1.14, Winter 2017
- ‘Luis-Martínez’s introduction not only explains Ramism but also puts Fraunce’s project in dialogue with Spenser’s 'Shepheardes Calender’.’ — Katherine Eggert, English Literature 57, 2017, 209
- ‘All in all, for the foreseeable future Luis-Martínez’s meticulous, ground-breaking edition will be the obligatory point of departure for all students and scholars with an interest in Fraunce’s logical writings, as well as a providing a useful introduction to English Ramism in general. The book is a credit to English Renaissance studies in Spain, and Luis-Martínez is to be congratulated.’ — Jonathan P. A. Sell, Spanish and Portuguese Society for English Renaissance Studies Yearbook 27, 2017, 255–61
- ‘The edition issues a siren call to literary scholars, in particular those working on historical formalism, and literature and education, to probe afresh for potential reciprocity between poetry and logic in England in this period... By making a rationale for reading The Shepherds’ Logic not as a poor cousin of Fraunce’s later, more famous textbook, but in its own right with its own arguments to make about poetry and logic, and the vernacular, Luis-Martínez elevates this text to essential reading for those working on English humanism and early modern education and literature more broadly.’ — Emma Annette Wilson, Spanish Journal of English Studies 38, 2017, 139‒143
- ‘Many are the reasons why Zenón Luis-Martínez’s critical edition of Abraham Fraunce’s The Shepherds’ Logic is a highly valuable contribution to early modern scholarship... As customary with editions published by the MHRA, there is a “Textual Notes” section at the end of the work to supplement the rich comments of the footnotes that run throughout the text, a final glossary of rare and archaic words, and an updated bibliography.’ — Rocío Gutiérrez Sumillera, Miscelánea 56, 2017, 141-144
The Blind Bow-Boy by Carl Van Vechten
Edited by Kirsten MacLeod
Critical Texts 62•31 August 2018
- ‘Kirsten MacLeod’s new MHRA Critical Texts edition of The Blind Bow-Boy makes it possible and attractive to bring Van Vechten into both the undergraduate and graduate classroom by illuminating the novel’s complex recipe for hedonism... In every sense, then, MacLeod’s framing of the novel makes it feel at once more significant and more enjoyable, and its availability now in an affordable paperback form will hopefully bring more scholars, students, and general readers into contact with its pleasures.’ — Kristin Mahoney, Textual Cultures 12.2, 2019, 144-46
- ‘If one were to add The Blind Bow-Boy to a class on modernism, New York literature of the 1920s, or even a twentieth-century literature survey, this edition would make the work accessible to a wide range of students because it serves in itself as an excellent introduction to modernist work. Highly recommended.’ — Michelle E. Moore, Modern Language Review 116.3, July 2021, 500-01 (full text online)
Joséphine de Monbart, Lettres tahitiennes
Edited by Laure Marcellesi
Critical Texts 36•1 July 2012
- ‘This outstanding volume ... excellent scholarly apparatus ... ideal for classroom use.’ — Heidi Bostic, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 34, 2013, 82-84
Antonio Malatesti, La Tina. Equivoci rusticali
Edited by Davide Messina
Critical Texts 41•1 March 2014
- ‘Dobbiamo rendere merito a Davide Messina, Senior Lecturer presso l’Università di Edimburgo e fine studioso di letteratura italiana del Seicento, se possiamo leggere ed apprezzare i cinquanta sonetti che compongono la raccolta poetica’ — Mario Ceroti, Mosaici online at www.mosaici.org.uk, 2014
Odilon Redon: Écrits
Edited by Claire Moran
Critical Texts 1•30 June 2005
- ‘The most interesting recent insight into Redon and his work emerges from this slender edition of his own early writings, carefully edited and presented by Claire Moran.’ — Natalie Adamson, Modern Language Review 101.4, 2006, 1131 (full text online)
- ‘Ce recueil ne manquera pas de susciter l'approfondissement d'études antérieures ou de nouvelles analyses sur l'expression écrite et picturale de Redon. En tant que chercheur, nous ne pouvons qu'encourager ce genre de collection qui facilite notre travail et nous offre par conséquent de nouveaux horizons de recherche.’ — Béatrice Vernier-Larochette, Dalhousie French Studies 76, 2006, 168-69
- ‘Claire Moran's exemplary introduction shows ... that Redon stood 'au cœur du chassé-croisé entre art et littérature' at the start of the twentieth century ... This publication will be heartily welcomed by all devotees of Redon's strange œuvre.’ — Peter Low, New Zealand Journal of French Studies 27.2, 2006, 52-53
‘Noa Noa’ by Paul Gauguin and Charles Morice: With ‘Manuscrit tiré du “Livre des métiers” de Vehbi-Zumbul Zadi’ by Paul Gauguin
Edited by Claire Moran
Critical Texts 50•21 August 2017
- ‘Moran has given us not only a fine new edition of Noa Noa, but also a forceful reminder of the generic complexities that underpin artists' writings.’ — Richard Hobbs, French Studies 72.3, July 2018, 450-51 (full text online)
- ‘Moran’s introductory essay is itself a noteworthy piece of contemporary scholarship on Gauguin... her very thorough and carefully edited new version of Noa Noa add to our understanding of Gauguin as a writer, in particular, the way he used writing as a mode of self-representation, not merely as a backdrop for his visual art... This affordable text will be useful for scholars of fin de siècle French art and literature as well as students of French language, art history, and aesthetic theory, and will likely lead to new scholarship on Gauguin... I would invite others going forward to consult Moran’s edition of Noa Noa as the definitive text for any study of Gauguin.’ — Heather Waldroup, H-France 18.213, October 2018
Michael Field, For That Moment Only and Other Prose Works
Edited by Alex Murray and Sarah Parker
Critical Texts 72 / Jewelled Tortoise 8•4 July 2022
- ‘Alex Murray’s and Sarah Parker’s edition of Michael Field’s short prose, For That Moment Only, considers the small-scale, gem-like pieces that were either lifted from the diary or specifically composed for publication. These range from essays or even sermons to sketches, impressions, vignettes, croquis, short stories and pieces of memorably poetic prose. In their excellent and detailed introduction, the editors describe croquis or prose poems as “the fragmented and fleeting poetic forms we associate with modernism”, though this notional “modernity of form” goes back not only to the 1860s, with Baudelaire’s Petits Poèmes en prose and Pater’s early essays, but also to Novalis and Schlegel as well as Coleridge.’ — Angela Leighton, Times Literary Supplement 17 February 2023
Alfonso X the Learned, Cantigas de Santa Maria
Edited by Stephen Parkinson
Critical Texts 40•1 April 2015
- ‘A new scholarly anthology with a balanced selection of songs—fresh, complete and competent—is welcome and overdue. Moreover, this preliminary view, in hard copy, of the promised full edition offers extraordinary value for the price.’ — Martha E. Schaffer, Bulletin of Spanish Studies 94, 2017, 1222-23
- ‘Le scelte editoriali di P. appaiono nel complesso ade guate e contribuiscono a fornire un testo valido, che riesce nell’intento di rivolgersi con profitto sia al pubblico non specialistico, sia, grazie alla scrupolosità dell’analisi metrica e alla completezza degli apparati, a studenti universitari o a specialisti della letteratura romanza e galego-portoghese.’ — Simone Marcenaro, Medioevo Romanzo XLII.2, 2018, 466-69
Gabriel-Marie Legouvé, La Mort d'Abel
Edited by Paola Perazzolo
Critical Texts 61•7 November 2016
La Découverte de l’île Frivole by Gabriel-François Coyer
A Bilingual Edition by Jean-Alexandre Perras
Critical Texts 76•16 September 2022
Les Veuves créoles
Edited by Julia Prest
Critical Texts 34•11 April 2017
- ‘In compiling this edition, Prest aims to reveal how the play could be ‘of considerable interest today in the context of renewed and ongoing research into the story of French colonialism and, increasingly, in colonial and créole drama’ (p. 5). This edition of Les Veuves créoles is a concise and riveting introduction to these research areas, and would in addition provide an ideal teaching tool.’ — Vanessa Lee, Bulletin of Francophone Postcolonial Studies 8.2, Autumn 2017, 26-27