Three Plays: False Admissions; Successful Strategies; [and] La Dispute (Absolute Classics)

The range of Marivaux's work and the subtlety beneath its apparent frivolity are demonstrated here by two of his most famous plays: 'Les Fausses Confidences' (False Admissions) and 'L'Heureux Stratageme' (Successful Strategies). Love is the subject of both plays, with underlying themes of deceit and self-delusion. The former play deals with social mobility and the power of money, while the latter, lighter in tone, takes place on a country estate with a cast of aristocrats and their servants. Both plays had their British premier in this translation at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith in 1983. This collection also includes 'La Dispute,' an intriguing one-act piece, first produced in this translation on BBC Radio.

Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763) was a versatile novelist, playwright and man of letters. His early works were novels and magazine articles. There followed a prolific period of writing plays for the Comedie-Italienne and the Comedie-Francaise.

Timberlake Wertenbaker has been described as 'the most successful translator of Marivaux in the present age, if not ever.' She is herself an eminent playwright. Born in France, she now resides in the UK.