Sir Charles Sedley’s «The Mulberry-Garden» (1668) and «Bellamira: or, The Mistress» (1687)

In his own time, the court wit Sir Charles Sedley (1639-1701) was praised for his poetic skill rather than for his dramatic talent. Yet, as this old-spelling critical edition of his two comedies shows, Sedley was also a satirist whose plays are worth reading along with the ones of his more celebrated fellow-artists Etherege, Wycherley, and Shadwell. After a biographical introduction, a detailed analysis of the plays and characters concentrates on Sedley’s satiric strategies which lambaste the marriage of convenience as well as the conduct of a hypocritical and materialistic society.