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Three French comedies revolving around marriage, misidentification,
medicine--and money DOCTOR SCRATCH, by Noel le Breton, is a clever
and hilarious farce, in which love becomes hopelessly entangled in
the attempts by the characters to improve their declining financial
situations. THE SERVANT PROBLEM, by Alain-Rene Lesage, the
well-known novelist, two criminals manage to insert themselves as
valets to several young men looking to marry the daughters of
wealthy families--and decide to abscond with the dowry themselves
In THE FORFEITURE, by Charles Dufresny, a handsome young man is
constricted in his marriage prospects by the fact that his two
maiden-lady aunts control the family fortune, which can only be
forfeited to him if they marry. Another valet takes charge by
seducing both women in different guises. Three very funny--and very
modern--takes on the art and science of romancing
Tobias Smollett, in the preface to his first novel, "The
Adventures of Roderick Random "(1748), acknowledges the influence
of Alain Rene Le Sage's "L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane"
(1715-35 in four volumes) on his work. By far the most successful
of "useful and entertaining" romances, Smollett writes, "Gil Blas"
describes "the knavery and foibles of life, with infinite humour
and sagacity." "The following sheets," he adds significantly, "I
have modeled on his plan." Smollett's translation of "Gil Blas"
appeared nine months after the publication of "Roderick Random."
This chronicle of a merry, philosophical young man whose adventures
lead him into all levels of society from the highest to the lowest,
presents special problems for a translator. Smollett, without
always adhering to the literal expression of the novel's language,
is true to its style, spirit, and ideas. After two and a half
centuries, his remains the finest translation of this humorous,
satiric, and classic French novel. In his early years in London,
Smollett struggled to find a way to distinguish himself through his
medical practice, medical writings, poetry, and plays. None of
these attempts, however, allowed him to demonstrate the full range
of his personality and talents. Only when he combined his own
boundless imagination with the skills he had learned from
translating "Gil Blas" was he able to create energetic narratives
filled with vivid and original characters.
Alain-Rene Le Sage (1668-1747) was a French novelist and
playwright, best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two
Sticks.
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