Terence: The Girl from Andros

The Girl from Andros is the first play by the Roman comic playwright Terence, based on two plays by Menander. It explores the plotting and counter-plotting of a devious master and slave, as well as the relationships between two boys and a girl in a male-dominated, slave-owning society. The play is a theatrical tour de force with comic highlights and metatheatrical remarks, and it was the first ancient Latin comedy to be performed in the Renaissance.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 324 pages
Publication date: 13 June 2019
Publisher: Liverpool University Press

The Girl from Andros, the inaugural play penned by the talented but fleeting Roman comic playwright Terence, serves as a testament to his remarkable dramatistic prowess. Drawing inspiration from two lost plays by the Greek playwright Menander, it made its debut in Rome in 166 BCE. At the heart of this captivating tale lies the intricate plotting and counter-plotting of a cunning master and his equally devious slave. However, the story extends beyond these two characters to encompass two boys who are desperately striving to retain the affection of the girls they cherish, as well as a young woman embarking on a quest to reunite with her long-lost family. These familiar elements of Latin comedy are interwoven with thought-provoking commentary on various aspects of human relationships within a male-dominated, slave-owning society that fiercely upholds its citizenship rights. Notably, The Girl from Andros was the first ancient Latin comedy to be performed during the Renaissance, exerting a profound influence on numerous plays that followed in subsequent centuries. Among these, Richard Steele's The Conscious Lovers (1722) stands as a notable example, while Thornton Wilder's novel The Woman of Andros (1930) drew inspiration from this play. This comprehensive volume presents the first detailed commentary on The Girl from Andros in nearly sixty years, offering a fresh perspective on this seminal work of ancient drama.

Weight: 430g
Dimension: 149 x 210 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789620115