The history of the harlequinade, volume 2 (of 2)

This volume dives into the long‑running comic figure known in the European stage as the miserly, duped old man – the Pantaloon, Strepsiades, Theuropides, and countless other aliases. Tracing his roots from Aristophanes and Plautus through the Italian commedia dell’arte and into nineteenth‑century vaudeville, the author shows how the character’s endless cravings, shivering coughs and constant scheming have become a universal shorthand for folly. Along the way, witty excerpts and lively dialogue illuminate how playwrights used him to satirize greed, generational conflict, and the absurdities of social ambition.

The book is richly illustrated with period drawings of masks, costumes and stage settings, letting listeners picture the flamboyant attire of the pantomime world. Organized into concise sections on each incarnation – from the Doctor to Scapino, from the Ballerina to the Carnival masks – the narrative balances scholarly detail with a conversational tone. It offers theatre lovers, literature students, and anyone curious about the lineage of comic archetypes a compelling auditory journey through centuries of colorful performance.