Don Juan

This book invites the reader to consider the history of Moliere's much-censored and oft-bowdlerized play "Don Juan," and to imagine, through this version of its text, its original fire. Moliere's wildly controversial script enjoyed exactly one performance before the censors and lobbyists started pulling it apart. This version supposes what could or might have been head that night, and means to bring modern audiences into the hour of the play's premiere-the high stakes for all involved, and the alarming effect the text and its ideas clearly had on those present. It includes a brief history of the play's suppression and early published editions, by Joan DeJean, an indefatigable scholar of Moliere, "Don Juan" and French culture. It also includes a brief history of Moliere's political and theatrical milieu