Bertrand et Raton, ou L'Art de Conspirer, anonymously translated in 1840 as “The School for Politicians,” was the first of the 374 plays of Augustin-Eugène Scribe (1791-1861) to arouse serious interest in the theatre. Given its première at the Théatre Français on November 14, 1833, this popular comedy of manners presented vigorous characters and a clever plot, amusingly sustained and fresh in treatment. The characters and situations, because of their animation, still awaken curiosity; the dramatic craftsmanship and comic originality of the play make it one of Scribe's masterpieces. Though his technical resourcefulness was one of the most important contributions to French drama in the nineteenth century, and though the genre of the “well-made” play (pièce bien faite), of which Scribe is the acknowledged father, has certainly “paid off” in the modern theatre, his plays, almost without exception, have been neglected.