THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL




THE TEXT OF THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL

The text of THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL in this edition is taken, by
Mr. Fraser Rae's generous permission, from his SHERIDAN'S PLAYS
NOW PRINTED AS HE WROTE THEM. In his Prefatory Notes (xxxvii),
Mr. Rae writes: "The manuscript of it [THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL]
in Sheridan's own handwriting is preserved at Frampton Court and
is now printed in this volume. This version differs in many
respects from that which is generally known, and I think it is
even better than that which has hitherto been read and acted.
As I have endeavoured to reproduce the works of Sheridan as he
wrote them, I may be told that he was a bad hand at punctuating
and very bad at spelling. . . . But Sheridan's shortcomings as a
speller have been exaggerated." Lest "Sheridan's shortcomings"
either in spelling or in punctuation should obscure the text,
I have, in this edition, inserted in brackets some explanatory
suggestions. It has seemed best, also, to adopt a uniform method
for indicating stage-directions and abbreviations of the names of
characters. There can be no gain to the reader in reproducing,
for example, Sheridan's different indications for the part of
Lady Sneerwell--LADY SNEERWELL, LADY SNEER., LADY SN., and LADY S.--
or his varying use of EXIT and EX., or his inconsistencies in
the use of italics in the stage-directions. Since, however,
Sheridan's biographers, from Moore to Fraser Rae, have shown that
no authorised or correct edition of THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL was