
audiobook
by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
A sparkling comedy unfolds in the elegant salons and bustling servants’ quarters of a French aristocratic household. With quick‑witted dialogue and a cast of memorable figures—from the clever valet who knows every secret to the proud noble trying to assert his authority—the play captures the lively clash of wit and desire that fuels daily life at court.
Beyond the laughs, the story gently pokes at the rigid social hierarchy of its time, exposing the absurdities of privilege and the folly of pretension. As love and jealousy swirl, misunderstandings mount, setting the stage for a cascade of clever schemes that keep listeners guessing. First performed in 1784, the work remains a vivid portrait of human foibles, inviting audiences to enjoy both its humor and its subtle commentary on the world it depicts.
Language
fr
Duration
~4 hours (245K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr)
Release date
2007-02-13
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1732–1799
Best known for the sparkling Figaro plays, this restless 18th-century French writer lived a life almost as dramatic as his comedies. He was also a watchmaker, courtier, businessman, and political go-between whose adventures fed the wit and energy of his work.
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