a flop. Only two performances were staged. It was obviously based on the novel of the same name (1678) by Madame de La Fayette. The play is a lost work, and there are some doubts on its existence. The main source about it seems to be a 1697 letter from the correspondence of an aging Boursault. He claimed to have reused part of its material for Germanicus. But there are records of Germanicus being staged in 1673, five years before the original novel appeared. There are also marked differences between the theme and plot of the two works. Le Mercure galant or La Comédie sans titre ("Play without a title") (1683). A theatrical comedy, and a comedy of manners. Monsieur de Boishuisant is an admirer of the eponymous periodical Mercure galant. Protagonist Oronte aspires to marry the daughter of the Monsieur and happens to be a friend of the editor. He gets permission to act as editor for a day to impress his prospective father-in-law. The play takes place in the offices of the periodical, and includes 13 vignettes where typical members of Parisian society present various requests to Oronte. Jean Donneau de Visé, the real-life founder of the periodical, attempted to stop production of the play. His efforts resulted in a change in title, though the play was not actually an attack on the periodical. Its depiction on stage serves as a testament to its popularity, and influence. Boursault reserves his satire for the well-born poetasters, who used their influence to get their works published alongside the better material of Le Mercure galant. The loosely connected scenes make this a work of social satire. There was little originality in the types depicted, which like a revue took its inspiration from contemporary figures and incidents. The people asking the support of the editor include an upwardly mobile bourgeois. He seeks to acquire a noble title, which would allow him to marry a young marquise. Another petitioner is a tax collector who has embezzled tax money, and wants the periodical to champion the cause of clearing his name. An old seaman wants to sell his life story to the periodical, certain that it will sell well among former veterans. He is a veteran of the Battle of Augusta (1676) and claims to be personally responsible for the death of enemy admiral Michiel de Ruyter. His actual claim to fame is that