Wild Oats or, The strolling gentleman. A comedy, in five acts.

Scarce Philadelphia printing of O’Keeffe’s popular 18th-century comedy

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Arguably the first American edition, though another was issued in New York in 1793, of one of the most popular late eighteenth-century comedies. Irish playwright John O’Keeffe’s Wild Oats (1747–1833) satirizes class, performance, and mistaken identity, and remained a repertory staple in Britain and America throughout the nineteenth century.

Carey’s Philadelphia printing appeared two years after the Covent Garden premiere, reflecting both the speed of O’Keeffe’s transatlantic success and Carey’s intent to bring recent British drama to American readers. O’Keeffe’s farces and comic operas, often focused on Irish characters and themes, resonated with Irish Americans—an audience Carey, himself Irish-born, knew well.

Price: $250.00