The Clandestine Marriage by George Colman and David Garrick is a celebrated eighteenth-century comedy of manners that explores love, secrecy, social ambition, and the tension between personal desire and family expectation. First performed in 1766, the play is renowned for its witty dialogue, engaging characters, and sharp commentary on marriage and social hierarchy. The story centers on a young woman who enters into a secret union with the man she loves, without the approval of her family....

The play retains much of the enchanted, magical atmosphere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, particularly the interactions between the fairy world and the human characters. The central story revolves around the love entanglements of four Athenian lovers—Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena—who, under the influence of magic, find themselves in comical situations. The fairy king Oberon and queen Titania are also featured, and their own magical rivalry contributes to the chaos in the lovers’ l...

A Fairy Tale in Two Acts Taken from Shakespeare (1763) is an intriguing collection that invites readers into a kaleidoscope of narrative magic and dramaturgical innovation, where Shakespeare's timeless tales are transformed and reimagined through a late 18th-century lens. Balancing between the classical elegance of Shakespearean drama and the imaginative reinterpretations by editors and adaptors of the time, this anthology offers a rich exploration of themes such as love, power, and metamo...