Overview
From 1880 to 1956, when John Osborne transformed the British theater world with Look Back in Anger, British playwrights made numerous lasting contributions and provided a foundation for the innovations of dramatists during the latter half of the 20th century. This reference profiles the life and work of some 40 British playwrights active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of whom are also known for their work as novelists and poets. Included are figures such as W. H. Auden, Max Beerbohm, Noel Coward, T. S. Eliot, John Galsworthy, Graham Greene, D. H. Lawrence, W. Somerset Maugham, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde. Each entry provides a biographical overview; a list of major plays and summaries of their critical reception; a list of minor plays, adaptations, and productions; an assessment of the playwright's career; and archival and bibliographical information. Included in this reference book are alphabetically arranged entries for some 40 British playwrights active from 1880 through 1956. Entries are written by expert contributors, with each entry providing a biographical overview; a list of major plays, premieres, and significant revivals, along with a summary of the critical reception of these works; a listing of additional plays, adaptations, and productions; an assessment of the playwright's career and contributions, with reference to published evaluations in magazines, journals, dissertations, and books; a listing of locations housing unpublished archival material, if available; a selected bibliography of the dramatist's published plays and of essays and articles by the playwright on aspects of the theater; a selected bibliography of secondary sources; and, when available, a listing of previously published bibliographies on the playwright.
Full Product Details
Author: William W. Demastes ,
Katherine Kelly ,
Katherine E. Kelly
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint: Greenwood Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.832kg
ISBN: 9780313287589
ISBN 10: 0313287589
Pages: 472
Publication Date: 09 December 1996
Recommended Age: From 7 to 17 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General/trade
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
?Taken as a set, [British Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995] supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....[T]his is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended.?-Library Journal
Taken as a set, [British Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995] supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....[T]his is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended. -Library Journal The biographical sketches, descriptions of theatrical reception, and assessments of playwrights' careers are very informative, and the sections on archival sources are welcome....recommmended for college and university libraries. -Choice Taken as a set, YBritish Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995 supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....YThis is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended. -Library Journal ?The biographical sketches, descriptions of theatrical reception, and assessments of playwrights' careers are very informative, and the sections on archival sources are welcome....recommmended for college and university libraries.?-Choice ?Taken as a set, [British Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995] supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....[T]his is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended.?-Library Journal
Taken as a set, [British Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995] supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....[T]his is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended. -Library Journal The biographical sketches, descriptions of theatrical reception, and assessments of playwrights' careers are very informative, and the sections on archival sources are welcome....recommmended for college and university libraries. -Choice Taken as a set, �British Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995� supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....�T�his is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended. -Library Journal ?The biographical sketches, descriptions of theatrical reception, and assessments of playwrights' careers are very informative, and the sections on archival sources are welcome....recommmended for college and university libraries.?-Choice ?Taken as a set, [British Playwrights, 1880-1956 and Irish Playwrights, 1880-1995] supplement British Playwrights, 1956-1995 to form an excellent critical overview of regional drama in this century. The uniformly well-written essays each include biographical data, summaries of the critical reception of all works, assessments of the playwrights' careers, primary and secondary bibliographies, and the housings of unpublished archival material....[T]his is a welcome addition to literature and theatrical collections...highly recommended.?-Library Journal
Author Information
WILLIAM W. DEMASTES is Professor of English at Louisiana State University. His publications include Beyond Naturalism: A New Realism in American Theater (1988), Clifford Odets: A Research and Production Sourcebook (1991), American Playwrights, 1880-1945: A Research and Production Sourcebook (1995), and British Playwrights, 1956-1995: A Research and Production Sourcebook (1996), all published by Greenwood Press. KATHERINE E. KELLY is Associate Professor of English at Texas A&M University and Executive Director of the South Central Modern Language Association. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Modern Drama, Theatre Journal, Comparative Drama, and Journal of Beckett Studies.
