The Theatre of Joseph Conrad Reconstructed Fictions

by Hand, Richard J.

• ISBN13: 9781403918994
• ISBN10: 1403918996
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-11-19
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book is the first full-length appraisal and critical analysis of Joseph Conrad and the theatre. Although the dramatic dimension to Conrad's fiction has always been acknowledged, his experiments in drama have traditionally been marginalised. Conrad wrote three plays - One Day More, Laughing Anne and The Secret Agent - and was closely involved in the dramatisation of Victory. All four plays represent a serious investigation of the dramatic form and some of them were startlingly ahead of their time. Furthermore, they are all adaptations, and the creation of them yields fascinating results with generic, stylistic and thematic ramifications. This book analyses each of the plays in close relation to the original fiction and contextualises them in relation to relevant theatrical genres such as melodrama and the Grand-Guignol as well as relating them to wider issues such as theatrical censorship and critical reception. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Richard J. Hand is Principal Lecturer in Drama, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	viii
Acknowledgements	ix
A Note on Texts	xi
Introduction: Why Conrad's Plays?	1	(5)
A Jolly Cold World: An Introduction to the Theatre of Joseph Conrad	6	(14)
A Tragedy in Modern Life: One Day More	20	(33)
A Grim and Weird Play: Basil Macdonald Hastings's Victory	53	(34)
A Play of Unbearable Horror: Laughing Anne	87	(39)
A Most Disturbing Play: The Secret Agent	126	(39)
Conclusion: A Terribly Searching Thing	165	(4)
Notes	169	(9)
Bibliography	178	(9)
Index	187