No one's any right to be what father is - never questioned, never answered back... First staged in 1912 and described as "the most powerful play produced in England in this decade," Githa Sowerby's Edwardian classic on family and labour enjoyed huge success in London and New York before disappearing from view. In a Northern industrial town, John Rutherford rules both factory and family with an iron will. But even as the furnaces burn relentlessly at the Glassworks, at home his children begin to turn against him. Sowerby's astonishing play was inspired by her own experience of growing up in a family-run factory in Gateshead. Writing in 1912, when female voices were seldom heard on British stages, she now claims her place alongside Ibsen and Bernard Shaw with this searing depiction of class, gender and generational warfare. This new edition was published to coincide with the National Theatre's revival in May 2019.

Githa Sowerby's Rutherford and Son took the London theatre by storm in 1912. Following its triumphant run, the play toured to New York, was produced throughout England, and was translated and staged in multiple European locations. Yet Sowerby's initial theatrical success would not be repeated, despite her composition of additional plays performed over the following decade, and two more in the 1930s. With historical hindsight, we can see Sowerby's experience as comparable to that of many other women writers who struggled to achieve lasting recognition, especially when their work was perceived as critiquing the political, cultural, and economic forces restricting women's lives. With the acclaimed revival of Rutherford at the National Theatre in 1994, and the efforts by feminist scholars and theatre artists to rediscover the work of such forgotten women writers, Sowerby and her dramas have secured renewed interest. This Broadview edition will provide teachers, students, and artists with important historical contexts for Sowerby's dramas, and will demonstrate the ongoing cogency of these dynamic, insightful, and engaging plays.

Lois Relph, a young stepmother with two stepdaughters for whom she cares deeply and her own thriving business, appears contented and in charge. But this is 1924, so does she really have control of her own money, or even her life, and what will she be able to do if things are in danger of going wrong both personally and professionally? It needs courage and determination to define what being a wife, mother and businesswoman means and it is not easy. A story whose resonance is still felt today.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.