Berman, Ronald. “The Comedy of Reason.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language 7 (Summer, 1965): 161-168. A brief discussion of The Beaux’ Stratagem that sees the play as having a logic that is characteristic of Restoration comedy.

Burns, Edward. Restoration Comedy: Crises of Desire and Identity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987. Burns’s central premise is that Restoration comedy was shaped by the pastoral mode so popular in sixteenth and seventeenth century literature. His treatment of individual plays and playwrights includes an interesting discussion of The Beaux’ Stratagem.

Farquhar, George. The Beaux’ Stratagem. Edited by Charles N. Fifer. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1977. The handiest modern edition of Farquhar’s play. Fifer’s introduction is concise and informative about the play’s history and the comic traditions it embodies.

Milhous, Judith, and Robert D. Hume. Producible Interpretation: Eight English Plays, 1675-1707. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1985. Two of the leading scholars in the field of Restoration and eighteenth century drama outline the production history of The Beaux’ Stratagem and discuss interpretive problems. Given the scarcity of scholarship on Farquhar’s most famous play, this is probably the best place to begin study of The Beaux’ Stratagem.

Rothstein, Eric. George Farquhar. New York: Twayne, 1967. Farquhar has never attracted a great deal of critical attention. At the time of its publication, this was the best study of Farquhar and his work. Includes a short biographical sketch, followed by a solid discussion of the works, including a chapter on The Beaux’ Stratagem.