Drama in French

Illustration from Corneille’s Rodegune, Paris, c. 1810. Uncatalogued

French drama has been one of the major collecting areas from the 1990s on, with a concentration on pre-1830 publications. There are now some 4,000 editions with the 17th century very well represented. There are particular strengths in the works of the Corneille brothers and those of Philippe Quinault. The collection has ranged as widely as possible and there are editions from Naples, Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin although most items were printed in Paris. Ancillary material includes theatre histories, periodicals and some biographies.