Seventeenth-century France produced a body of plays that forms one of the high points in the history of dramatic writing. The period is dominated by Corneille, Moliere, and Racine. Their work is given due attention in this book, but the author’s purpose is wider: to discuss what we mean by "classical" French drama; to describe the theatrical and social conditions in which it flourished; to examine its origins, and its expression in the work of lesser playwrights; and to consider the theories of drama to be found in the writings of dramatic critics and of the dramatists themselves.