2 h 22 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 22 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a London where crime runs like a business, what separates a gentleman from a thief?
Mr Peachum buys stolen goods, manages thieves, and puts profit before loyalty. Then his daughter Polly secretly marries Macheath, the gang's charming highwayman, and the family business faces trouble. In John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, Polly's wish to stay true to her husband meets her parents' greed, while Macheath's taste for women and pleasure makes fidelity a difficult promise.
This satirical ballad opera mixes spoken scenes with short songs set to familiar tunes, from street ballads to country dances. Gay turns the grandeur of Italian opera into sharp comedy about politics, money, and class. From Peachum's household to Polly and Macheath's tender parting, the play sets affection against self-interest and asks why respectable society looks so much like the criminal world.
What you’ll discover
- Crime behind the counter Enter Peachum's household, where stolen goods and human loyalty become matters of business.
- Love against family profit Follow Polly as her secret marriage puts devotion at odds with her parents' greed.
- A dangerously charming husband Meet Macheath, whose hunger for freedom and pleasure sits uneasily beside his promises.
- Songs with a satirical edge Discover how familiar tunes join spoken comedy in Gay's playful challenge to grand opera.
- Gentlemen reflected in thieves Enjoy sharp wit that makes polite society and the criminal trade look uncomfortably alike.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy sharp satire, stage comedy, songs that mock the powerful, crime stories with a clever villain, and the rowdy streets of eighteenth century London.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Crime runs on a ledger
- Polly refuses to sell her husband
- Macheath mistakes pleasure for safety
- Love enters a prison of bargains
- Escape leaves the same dangers waiting
- Respectability does not change the crime
- Feeling resists the price put on it
- Familiar songs carry a sharp accusation
Who’s who
- MacheathA charming highwayman and gang leader who loves women, gambling, and company, and who wants to stay free and enjoy his pleasures.
- Polly PeachumPeachum's daughter, who marries Macheath for love against her parents' wishes and wants to keep him alive and by her side.
- Mr. PeachumA receiver of stolen goods and thief-taker who keeps a ledger of his gang and wants to profit from every life and death.
- Mrs. PeachumPeachum's wife, who helps run the trade and wants her daughter to make a profitable match instead of a foolish marriage.
- LockitThe jailer of Newgate, who sells comfort to prisoners and shares the spoils of the hangings with Peachum, but trusts nobody.
- Lucy LockitLockit's daughter, who believes Macheath promised to marry her and wants him for herself, whatever it costs her rival.
- FilchA young pickpocket in Peachum's service who wants to rise in the trade and escape the gallows long enough to enjoy it.
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The Beggar's Opera
by John Gay · 1728
A thief-taker sells his daughter's husband to the gallows while two women fight over the same highwayman.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What happens when a man who sells stolen watches by day also sells his own daughter's husband to the hangman? In John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, first staged in 1728, a London receiver of stolen goods named Peachum keeps a ledger of thieves.
The Beggar's Opera at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 20 min1 h 5 min fast, 1 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 19,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1728by John Gay
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Peachum runs crime like a trading business
The play opens in Peachum's house, where he sits over a large account book. He is a receiver of stolen goods and also a thief-taker. He buys what thieves steal, and he turns thieves in for a reward of forty pounds a head. He decides who gets protection and who goes to the gallows.
His first song says that every profession calls every other one a rogue. The priest calls the lawyer a cheat, and the lawyer calls the priest a scoundrel. Peachum thinks his own trade is as honest as any.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1728
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Gay, John. The Beggar's Opera. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-beggars-opera.
Gay, J. (2026). The beggar's opera. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-beggars-opera (Original work published 1728)
Gay, John. The Beggar's Opera. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-beggars-opera.
@book{gay2026beggars,
author = {Gay, John},
title = {The Beggar's Opera},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-beggars-opera},
note = {First published 1728}
}
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What is The Beggar's Opera about?
It follows the highwayman Macheath, who secretly marries Polly Peachum. Her father, a dealer in stolen goods, plots to have him hanged for the reward, and Macheath is also pursued by Lucy Lockit, who claims him too.
Who wrote The Beggar's Opera and when was it first staged?
John Gay wrote it, and it was first staged in London in 1728. He built it as a ballad opera, mixing spoken scenes with songs set to tunes the audience already knew.
Why is it called a ballad opera?
Because its songs use popular ballad tunes instead of new music by a composer. It copies the shape of grand opera but sets everyday words to street melodies, which gives it a comic edge.
The author
John Gay
1685–1732 · English poet and playwright
John Gay was an English poet and playwright born in Barnstaple, Devon, in 1685. He later lived in London. He wrote the poem Trivia, published in 1716, and Fables, published in 1727. His play The Beggar’s Opera was first performed in 1728. He died in London in 1732.
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