At the age of twenty-three, Padraic Colum (1881-1972) was one of the founding fathers of the Abbey Theatre. His contribution to the development of Irish drama continued until his voluntary exile to America in 1914. His play, Broken Soil (1903), was the first commercial success at the Abbey, and it established the long-lived tradition of the peasant play on the Irish stage. This collection comprises the three major forms of his dramatic art: The Land (1905); Betrayal (1912); and two of his five Noh plays (a five-play cycle containing poetry and prose following the Yeats and Japanese Model), Glendalough (based on the career of Charles Stewart Parnell), and Monasterboice (based on the early life of Colum's lifelong friend, James Joyce).

The selected plays show the extraordinary variety of Irish drama today as well as the brilliance of Irish playwrights, both seasoned veterans and those beginning to build reputations on the stages of the world's premier national theatre, The Abbey. The first play by award-winning playwright Michael Harding, ""Sour Grapes"", explores the taboos of seminary life including paedophilia and homosexuality. Thomas Kilroy's ""The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde"" tells the historical drama of the marriage of Constance to Oscar Wilde and recounts the tragedy that was her marriage and life. Interlocking lives of a varied group of eight morally adrift young Dublin women and men, Alex Johnston's dramatic comedy ""Melonfarmer"" illuminates the difficulty of human communication in a fast-paced urban society. ""By the Bog of Cats"" by Marina Carr completes the volume in an intense, poetic tragedy of brutal Irish rural-Midlands life in which money and land outweigh all other values.

The recent A&E production of the adventures of Horatio Hornblower makes this newly revised edition of Sanford Sternlicht's full-length biographical and critical study of G. S. Forester and the Hornblower Saga that much more important. The book focuses on the writing, character models, historical background, and nautical veracity of the novels and stories that created for Forester a world-wide readership.

Sternlicht includes little-known facts about Forester's background, his days in Hollywood as a screenwriter, and the genesis of the models for the major characters in the Saga -- many of whom were friends and acquaintances of Forester's. Sternlicht discusses extensively the research and writing techniques Forester used in his depiction of naval warfare and specific campaigns and actions of the Napoleonic period with actual procedures, events, and outcomes.

In addition, Sternlicht offers readings and historical background to Forester's two other great historical novels, The African Queen and The General.

Modern Irish Drama: W. B. Yeats to Marina Carr presents a thorough the introduction to recent history of one of the greatest dramatic and theatrical traditions in Western culture. Originally published in 1988, this updated edition provides extensive new material, charting the path of modern and contemporary Irish drama from its roots in the Celtic Revival to its flowering in world theater. The lives and careers of more than fifty modern Irish playwrights are discussed along with summaries of their major plays and recommendations for further reading. Most significantly, Sternlicht treats the major themes of modern Irish drama: the struggle for independence; the suffering caused by extreme poverty and the resulting emigration; the decline of Anglo-Irish ascen dency; the epic longing for and love of the land; the falling power of the clergy; generational conflicts; problems of the post-colonial transition; and the impact of feminism on a patriarchal society. Sternilicht brings well-deserved attention to such playwriters as Conor McPherson, Robert Massey, Ursala Rani Sarma, and Sean McLoughlin, among others. Including a selected bibliography and filmography, Modern Irish Drama is an indispensible resource for students of drama studies and production companies alike.

Jewish Americans have produced some of the most imaginative, provocative, and widely read literary works of the twentieth century. These works reflect the hopes and dreams of Jewish Americans, as well as their challenges and troubles. These works help students understand the cultural and historical events central to Jewish Americans in the twentieth century. This book gives students and general readers an introduction to ten masterpieces of Jewish American literature. An introductory chapter discusses the backgrounds of Jewish American literature, including Jewish literary traditions, Jewish life in America, the history of Jewish American literature, and the importance of anti-semitism, the Holocaust, and the State of Israel to the Jewish American imagination. The chapters that follow cover ten major works of Jewish American literature, including: The Rise of David Levinky, by Abraham Cahan Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska Jews without Money, by Michael Gold Call It Sleep, by Henry Roth The Old Bunch, by Meyer Levin The Adventures of Augie March, by Saul Bellow The Assistant, by Bernard Malamud The Chosen, by Chiam Potok Portnoy's Complaint, by Philip Roth And The Messiah of Stockholm, by Cynthia Ozick. Each chapter provides biographical information, a plot summary, a discussion of characters, an analysis of themes, an examination of narrative style, an exploration of historical context, and suggestions for further reading. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.

Modern British and Irish dramatic works are widely enjoyed by general readers and high school students. But because they are rooted in literary Modernism and generally reflect particular historical and cultural concerns, they can also be difficult for students to understand. This volume concisely and conveniently introduces 10 masterpieces of British and Irish drama in an accessible manner. The book begins with an introductory essay on the historical context of early Modernism, the nature of theater at the beginning of the 20th century, and the trends that have shaped modern Irish and British drama. Each of the chapters that follow is devoted to a particular play. These include: The Playboy of the Western World Saint Joan Juno and the Paycock Private Lives Waiting for Godot Look Back in Anger The Birthday Party Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Translations And Top Girls. Each chapter provides a brief biography, a plot summary, a discussion of major themes and characters, an overview of the play's historical background, an analysis of the play's dramatic style, a survey of the play's critical reception, and suggestions for further reading.

Since it was written nearly 50 years ago, Night (1958) has changed world perception of the Holocaust experience. Wiesel's oeuvre, including Holocaust narratives such as Dawn (1961), novels, essays, tales, and plays, has also altered the critical and aesthetic landscape through which we view literature, placing themes of religious identity, hope, survival, devotion to family, and humanity ahead of distinctions of fiction and nonfiction. This volume offers critical analysis of all of Wiesel's major writings, with full chapters on Night, Dawn, The Oath, and four other full-length works. His most recent five novels, including The Testament (1980) and Twilight (1987), are also covered. Plot, character development, thematic concerns, and style are discussed, as are historical contexts and alternate critical perspectives. This volume is an indispensable tool for students, whether they are encountering Night for the first time, revisiting Wiesel's literary contributions, or discovering the author's recent works, such as The Judges (1999). A biographical section relates the tragic events of Wiesel's life to his inspirational writings. A literary heritage chapter offers an overview of his achievements and situates his works within the Western literary tradition and the historical and religious frameworks. A separate chapter covers Wiesel's nonfiction writings, including his most important essays, tales, and studies. A bibliography of selected sources is included.

Padraic Colum (1881-1972) was in the forefront of the Irish Literary Revival along with William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, George Moore, AE (George Russell), and John Millington Synge. At the age of twenty-three he was a founding father of the Abbey Players, and he was recognized as one of the most talented young writers of drama, poetry, and short fiction. Unfortunately, Colum quarreled with Yeats and Lady Gregory, and, since he could not earn a living in Dublin by writing alone, he left for America. Colum's contribution to Irish letters is unique, because he alone of the early giants of the Irish Literary Revival was Roman Catholic, peasant born, and country bred. His literary themes are tributes to the indomitable Irish spirit, the natural nobility of the Irish peasant, the ancient folk customs of the countryside, and the poetic beauty of Irish English.

This is a comprehensive survey of modern American drama beginning with its antecedents in Victorian melodrama through to the present. The author discusses the work and the achievement of more than 70 playwrights, from Eugene O'Neill to Susan-lori Parks - from the golden era of Broadway to the rise of Off-Broadway and regional theatre. He shows how world theatre influenced the American stage, and how the views of American dramatists reflected the great American social movements of their times. In addition, he describes the contributions of the early Experimental theatre, the Federal Theatre of the 1930s, African American, feminist, and gay and lesbian drama - and the joyous trends and triumphs of American musical theatre.

A Reader's Guide to Modern Irish Drama provides an introduction to one of the great dramatic and theatrical traditions of Western culture. As a comprehensive contemporary study of Irish Drama, the book includes the most recent and youngest playwrights working today at the Abbey, Druid and Lyric Theatres. Beginning with essays on 20th-century Irish history, The Irish Literary Theatre and the development of the Modern Irish Theatre in Dublin, Belfast, Galway and other cities, A Reader's Guide to Modern Irish Drama then presents biographies and bibliographies of over 25 major 20th-century Irish dramatists from Lady Gregory, Yeats and Synge through O'Casey, Beckett and Behan; from Friel and McGuinness to Marina Carr and Martin McDonagh. Perhaps most significantly, the guide discusses the important plays of all the playwrights included, and the major themes of Modern Irish Drama including: the struggle for independence, the cruelty of poverty, the pains of emigration and exile, the decline of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy, the power of religion, the longing for land, and the familial and gender conflicts of a people in transition. Finally, a selected bibliography for the study of Modern Irish Drama is included.

Since the publication of his first novel, "The Chosen," Chaim Potok has been regarded as one of the most important Jewish-American writers of our time. In that 1967 landmark work, in its sequel "The Promise" (1969), and in the other works that followed, Potok has explored the conflict between Jewish values and the secular American culture against which these enlightening stories are set. This full-length critical study introduces students to the powerful fiction of Potok. By examining in depth not only the spiritual elements but also the literary components that make works such as "My Name Is Asher Lev" (1972) best-sellers, this Critical Companion helps readers gain an appreciation for the considerable literary achievements of Potok. A close reading is given for each of Potok's eight novels, including his most recent work set in the Korean War, "I Am the Clay" (1992). A full chapter on each title examines character and plot development, major themes, and stylistic features. A discussion of the historical context as well as a close critical reading further enhances the understanding and appreciation of each work.

This Critical Companion provides an up-to-date, detailed biography of Chaim Potok, examining his life as a man, as a rabbi, and as an artist. A literary heritage chapter explores the influences on Potok's writings, both literary and spiritual. This section helps students of all backgrounds understand the basic tenets and the important distinctions within contemporary Judaism. This discussion also examines what it means to be a Jewish-American writer. Full literary analysis of Potok's eight novels is provided, each book with its own chapter. A specially selected bibliography of reviews, criticism, and biographical information completes this volume.

The selected plays illustrate the extraordinary variety of Irish drama today as well as the brilliance of Irish playwrights, both seasoned veterans and those beginning to build reputations on the stages of the world's premier national theater, The Abbey.

The first play by award-winning playwright Michael Harding, Sour Grapes, explores the taboos of seminary life including pedophilia and homosexuality. Thomas Kilroy's The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde tells the historical drama of the marriage of Constance to Oscar Wilde and recounts the tragedy that was her marriage and life. Interlocking lives of a varied group of eight morally adrift young Dublin women and men, Alex Johnston's dramatic comedy Melonfarmer illuminates the difficulty of human communication in a fast-paced urban society. By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr completes the volume in an intense, profound, and poetic tragedy of brutal Irish rural-Midlands life in which money and land outweigh all other values.