PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) DOI 10.2357/ PFSCL-2019-0015 228 Charles Mazouer (ed.) : Molière, Théâtre complet. Tome I. Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2016. 939 p. One might at first question the need for another Molière complete works, given that George Forestier and Claude Bourqui’s Pléiade edition only appeared in 2010. However, on the basis of its first volume, this edition looks set to provide a welcome counterpoint. The Pléiade aims to be authoritative and exhaustive, but is notoriously difficult to use. Charles Mazouer, for his part, has aimed for a more generalist audience of students, early career researchers and ‘honnêtes gens’. They will no doubt be delighted by the result, which is both clear in terms of content (although perhaps lacking in detail), and easy to read in terms of language and presentation. The style is personal, yet not familiar, replete with exclamation marks and interjections, all of which adds considerably to the volume’s readability. Charles Mazouer has restored the plays to their familiar production order. This first volume accordingly spans the period from the early farces, La Jalousie du barbouillé and Le Médecin volant, to Molière’s first comédieballet, Les Fâcheux. The plays are preceded by a sixty-page general introduction, while the individual introductions situate them in relation to the dramatist’s biography. The latter also touch on key themes and other contextual matters, although perhaps with rather too much plot summary, and there is some overlap with information given in the notes. Annexes are limited but useful, and the preface to the 1682 complete works is given in an appendix. One major, welcome innovation is the introduction into the text of Les Fâcheux of the scores of the musical pieces with which it was punctuated. The bibliography is voluminous, although a little dated and almost exclusively francophone. The texts reproduced are those of the first editions (where these exist), the manuscripts of the farces, or taken from the 1682 complete works. Reference is made to the 1682 and 1734 stage directions, usually in the notes. However, elsewhere the plays are modified to include them, which can result in some oddities, as when two additional characters suddenly appear in the finale of Les Précieuses ridicules. Charles Mazouer mentions that certain lines are marked in the 1682 edition as having been cut in performance, and it is regrettable that detailed information is not given. He also admits that he is ‘impie’ on the much-debated topic of the relationship between punctuation and performance, and has consequently modernised where he felt it to be necessary. In his general introduction, Charles Mazouer situates himself between the two poles of ‘Molière philosophe’ and ‘Molière homme de théâtre’, Comptes rendus PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) DOI 10.2357/ PFSCL-2019-0015 229 before opting for an ‘aventure théâtrale’ approach. He is, though, only able to give the briefest glimpse of these or any other of the topics he covers. What we have here, as befits his target audience, is above all a brilliant overview - containing little that is new or original, but with very many suggestions for further reading. And certain of his mises au point are both useful and enlightening - for example his discussion of préciosité and galanterie. He is particularly good at highlighting connections, showing, for example, how one work anticipates another or how material was re-used. Similarly, he acknowledges briefly Molière’s debt to other dramatists or authors. The chronological and biographical approach also facilitates his consideration of the repeat appearances of Mascarille and Sganarelle. And in his comments on the individual plays he effectively balances different critical interpretations. More negatively, little is included on the material context or company organisation, which leads to occasional slips regarding theatre design, the production process and performance conditions. And claims are made, for example regarding Molière’s functions within the company, that are not necessarily backed up by the evidence. Similarly, much emphasis is placed on the actors’ physicality, but without them being situated in relation to either architecture or décor. Charles Mazouer maintains it is impossible to produce an ‘authentique sociologie du théâtre’ at this distance, since statistical and economic evidence is lacking, but he ignores what evidence does remain and those analyses that have been conducted. Again this leads to occasional slips and doubtful assumptions regarding audience composition. Other topics he neglects include programming and repertory, which is particularly striking when he comes to consider the works’ relative success, since plays entering the repertory first were obviously more likely to receive the most performances. Overall, this is a book that covers a wide range of material in very little space and generally does it well. It is perhaps surprising that there is no discussion of cross-dressing, given its comparative prevalence in the plays included. But this is only the first volume, and other topics (for example Molière’s ‘libéralisme en matière féminine’) will no doubt reappear. And, on the plus side, Charles Mazouer rightly highlights the importance of ‘polyphonie’, not only in theatre as a genre, but in Molière’s personalisation of his characters by means of language. Finally, in the conclusion to his general introduction, Charles Mazouer claims (rightly) that Molière transcends ‘les époques, les pays, les classes sociales’. But perhaps sadly not genders, since all the great directors he mentions are men (and for that matter all French). Given Molière’s undisputed place as the most international of French playwrights, it would have been nice to have had PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) DOI 10.2357/ PFSCL-2019-0015 230 some allusion to the many significant translations and productions that have taken place worldwide in recent decades. Nevertheless, this is a clear and eminently useful volume that is ideally adapted to its target audience and one that I enjoyed reading it very much. Jan Clarke