
Overview
Synopsis
The play concerns the "seditious knight," Sir Timothy Treat-all, and his Tory nephew, Tom Wilding, both vying for the affections of Charlot, the eponymous London heiress. Treat-all keeps an open house for all of those who oppose the king, and he has disinherited Wilding. Wilding launches a complex scheme to triumph over Treat-all. First, he introduces his mistress to Treat-all as Charlot, allowing Treat-all to woo her. This allows him to court the real Charlot himself, and it allows his mistress to move up to a wealthy knight. Then, during a staged entertainment, Wilding assumes a disguise and pretends to be a Polish nobleman. He offers Treat-all the throne of Poland. The greedy Treat-all accepts. Then, Wilding arranges for a burglary, where he and Treat-all both end up bound, and the burglars take all of Treat-all's papers. The burglars are Wilding's confidantes, and the papers contain evidence of Treat-all's treason. Wilding thereby marries Charlot, Treat-all marries Wilding's former mistress, and Treat-all is forced by blackmail to treat Wilding well and to leave him his estates
Show Information
- Book
- Aphra Behn
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 5
- First Produced
- 1682
- Genres
- Comedy
- Time & Place
- london
- Licensor
- None/royalty-free
- Ideal For
- All-Male Cast, All-Female Cast, Small Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
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Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
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Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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