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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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As You Like It
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(c.1599) Comedy by *Shakespeare in which various exiles from the corrupt court of a usurper live in the forest of Arden, at the informal court of the deposed ruler. The play satirizes the pastoral conventions of lovesick shepherds but celebrates at the same time the healing power of nature, for ill-will is dissipated in this forest; the finale provides four marriages and the restoration of the true court. The central character is Rosalind, who disguises herself as a boy, Ganymede, to follow her beloved Orlando de Boys into the forest. Comedy is provided at two very different levels – clownish with Touchstone and his wench Audrey, sophisticated in the company of the cynical Jaques (who describes the *seven ages of man).
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