Le Philinte de Moliere, or La suite du Misanthrope, was first published
in 1791 and is here produced with variants from the manuscript held in
the Bibliotheque nationale and with a selection of contemporary reviews
of the first performance in 1790. The play is the eighteenth-century
continuation of Moliere's classic comedy, Le Misanthrope, influenced by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The first performance caused a stir and was
acclaimed by d'Eglantine's contemporaries. It is an important work,
particularly when presented in the context of the author's life and the
political backdrop against which it was written, and it is vital to any
study of the legacy of Moliere and of the history of the theatre in the
late eighteenth century.