Cyrano de Bergerac - A Classic Romantic Drama of Wit, Courage, and Unrequited Love - Hardcover

by Edmond Rostand (Author)

A brilliant romantic drama of swordplay, poetry, wit, and heartbreaking devotion, Cyrano de Bergerac is Edmond Rostand's beloved masterpiece of courage, eloquence, and unspoken love.

Cyrano is a soldier, poet, duelist, and fearless man of words, famous for his dazzling wit and equally famous for the enormous nose that makes him believe himself unworthy of romantic happiness. Though he loves the beautiful Roxane with all the intensity of his soul, he hides his feelings behind bravado, mockery, and sacrifice. When Roxane confesses her love for the handsome but inarticulate Christian, Cyrano becomes the secret voice behind Christian's courtship, pouring his own passion into letters and speeches that win Roxane's heart while denying himself the chance to be known.

First performed in 1897, Cyrano de Bergerac became an immediate triumph and remains one of the great works of French theater. Rostand combines comedy, romance, adventure, and tragedy with extraordinary theatrical energy, creating a hero whose pride, generosity, and verbal brilliance have captivated audiences for generations. The play's famous balcony scene, its duels of both sword and language, and its final vision of honor in defeat make it a lasting celebration of style, loyalty, and impossible love.

At once swashbuckling entertainment and deeply moving character study, Cyrano de Bergerac speaks to anyone who has hidden vulnerability behind performance or loved with more courage than hope. Its power lies in the contrast between Cyrano's outward flamboyance and inward loneliness, between the mask of confidence and the ache of self-doubt. For readers of classic drama, French literature, romantic tragedy, and heroic adventure, Rostand's play remains vivid, funny, painful, and unforgettable.