Publisher: Nick Hern Books
Avid insect-collector Jamie Purdy and his disintegrating granny are new to the Morayshire caravan park where George-Michael Skinner and his young mother Bunny lives. But this is no ordinary mother and son relationship. A darkly surreal and richly comic play from Morna Pearson, former member of the Traverse Theatre's Young Writers Group.
George Meredith, OM, was born in Portsmouth, England on February 12th, 1828. His mother died when he was five. As a fourteen year old teenager he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, staying there for two years. After reading law he was articled as a solicitor, but quickly abandoned that career path for journalism and poetry. He collaborated with Edward Gryffydh Peacock, son of Thomas Love Peacock in publishing a privately circulated literary magazine, the Monthly Observer. At age twenty-one he married Mary Ellen Nicolls, Edward Peacock's beautiful widowed sister, on August 8th, 1849. Mary Ellen was 28. The marriage produced one child; Arthur (1853–1890). Meredith collected his early writings, all previously published in periodicals, in an 1851 volume, Poems. In 1856 he posed as the model for The Death of Chatterton, a well-known picture by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter Henry Wallis, which romantised the teenage Chatterton’s demise. Although Meredith received some publicity for this his wife received rather more attention from Wallis because of it. Mary Ellen ran off with Wallis in 1858, shortly before giving birth to a child that all assumed to be Wallis. Tragically she died three years later. From that dreadful experience emerged a collection of sonnets entitled Modern Love in 1862 together with much of his first major novel; The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. Meredith married Marie Vulliamy in 1864 and they settled in Surrey. Together they had two children; William (1865) and Mariette (1874). He had a keen understanding of comedy and his Essay on Comedy (1877) remains a reference work in the history of comic theory. In The Egoist, published in 1879, he applies some of his theories of comedy in one of his most thoughtful and enduring novels. During most of his career, he had difficulty crossing over from critical acclamation to popular success. It was only in 1885 that his first genuine commercial success appeared; Diana of the Crossways. With an unreliable income stream he sought to bolster that with a job as a publisher's reader. The company that gave him this lifeline was Chapman & Hall. His advice to the company was very well received and made him influential in the world of letters. In 1868 Meredith was introduced to Thomas Hardy. Hardy had submitted his first novel, The Poor Man and the Lady. Meredith felt the book was too bitter a satire on the rich and told Hardy to put it aside as it was likely it would be savaged by reviewers and destroy his nascent career. Meredith had received the same reaction with The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. Although it had brought him success it was judged so shocking that Mudie's circulating library cancelled an order of 300 copies. But these years, creatively, were very prolific and successful for Meredith. Novels and poems flowed from his pen including everything from The Adventures of Harry Richmond to many poetry volumes including The Lark Ascending (which later inspired the Vaughan Williams music). In 1886, tragedy struck when Marie Vulliamy, died of cancer. Whilst his personal life was producing horrendous scars he was receiving many accolades. Oscar Wilde was a fan. In The Decay of Lying, he says of Meredith "Ah, Meredith! Who can define him? His style is chaos illumined by flashes of lightning". In 1891 Meredith was even the subject of homage when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes short story The Boscombe Valley Mystery. Holmes turns to Watson during case discussions and says "And now let us talk about George Meredith, if you please, and we shall leave all minor matters until tomorrow." George Meredith, aged 81, died at his home in Box Hill, Surrey on May 18th, 1909. He is buried in the cemetery at Dorking, Surrey. This volume comes to you from Portable Poetry, a specialized imprint from Deadtree Publishing. Our range is large and growing and covers single poets, themes, and many compilations.Show book
Sir John Gielgud performs his favourite scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Cymbeline, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and many more.Show book
Budd Schulberg’s Academy Award–winning screenplay, updated as a stage drama for modern audiencesFirst performed in 1988 and again on Broadway in 1995, Budd Schulberg and Stan Silverman’s stage version of On the Waterfront may represent the purest incarnation of his classic story. Produced forty years after the movie swept the Academy Awards, the subtly modernized stage play was a call to arms for a new generation. With this rendition, Schulberg and Silverman hoped to reach young people who seemed detached from the dehumanizing effects of poverty and the exploitation of society’s most vulnerable. Set in the 1950s and featuring original protagonists Terry Malloy and Father Pete Barry, On the Waterfront continues to stand as a masterful and uniquely American tragedy. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Budd Schulberg including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.Show book
A wistful look back at a young Hispanic woman’s “MGM” which stands for “My Grandmama”. The narrator often channels “MGM” for advice as she tries to succeed as a second-generation American.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Yolanda Lloyd, Tony Plana, Rose Portillo, Ruben Sierra and Renee Victor.Directed by Peggy Shannon. Recorded before a live audience in June, 1992.Show book
Part of the Hero Classics series “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.” This is the story of the prophet Al-Mustafa and his conversations with various acquaintances, as he returns home after a long absence. Told in 26 prose poetry fables written in English, the book covers areas such as love, passion, pain, freedom and friendship. The Prophet has been translated into over 100 different languages, making it one of the most translated books in history. The Hero Classics series:MeditationsThe ProphetA Room of One’s OwnIncidents in the Life of a Slave GirlThe Art of WarThe Life of Charlotte BronteThe RepublicThe PrinceNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American SlaveUtopiaShow book
Molly Sweeney, by the great Irish playwright Brian Friel, tells the story of married couple Molly and Frank, who live in a remote Irish village. Molly has been blind since birth, but now a surgeon – Mr. Rice – believes he may be able to restore her sight. In a series of interwoven monologues, Molly Sweeney takes us into the minds of three people with very different expectations of what will happen when Molly regains her vision.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Jenny Bacon, Robert Breuler and Rick Snyder.Show book
