{"product_id":"the-virtuoso-paperback","title":"The Virtuoso - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eThomas Shadwell\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eMarjorie Hoe Nicholson\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor), \u003cb\u003eDavid S. Rodes\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 1676, \u003ci\u003eThe Virtuoso\u003c\/i\u003e set a standard for theatrical satire. It was the most extensive dramatic treatment of modern science since Jonson's \u003ci\u003eThe Alchemist\u003c\/i\u003e and took as its target no less than the Royal Society of London. Shadwell's barbs hit their targets often and cleanly. In 1689 he became Poet Laureate of England, a position he held until his death in 1692.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe virtuoso of the title is Sir Nicholas Gimcrack, who like many after him confuses the extent of a collection with the depth of a science. Sir Gimcrack is fascinated by the geography of the moon, the worlds in his microscope, and the possibilities of human flight. More seriously and--for Shadwell's audience--more comically, his obsession with his arrays of worms and spiders proceeds at the expense of his wife and two beautiful nieces.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe play also introduces Sir Formal Trifle, a pedantic ciceronian orator and coxcomb. His character established thereafter the theatrical type of the know-it-all blowhard. Famous for its wit and high-speed changes, The Virtuoso is also a display of the prestige of modern science and the pomposity of its ameteurs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 154\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.41 x 8.02 x 5.51 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 26, 2002\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42722892677183,"sku":"9780803253681","price":58.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/9395643302435855657513ab0323cfac.webp?v=1765097313","url":"https:\/\/dhlswag.com\/products\/the-virtuoso-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}