The Figaro trilogy

by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais

Who was Figaro? Not the impertinent valet of the operas of Mozart or Rossini, but both the spirit of resistance to oppression and a bourgeois individualist like his creator. The three plays in which he plots and schemes chronicle the slide of the ancien régime into revolution, but also chart the growth of Beaumarchais' humanitarianism. They are also exuberant theatrical entertainment, masterpieces of skill, invention and social satire which helped shape the direction of the French theatre for a hundred years. This lively new translation captures all the zest and energy of the most famous valet in French literature.--From publisher description.