Book Description

Harley Granville Barker (1877-1946) was the author of the most thoughtful English plays of the first half of the twentieth century, ranging from intimate to epic. Brilliantly written (Shaw called them 'masterpieces') they were judged to be far ahead of their time on first performance. The Marrying of Ann Leete, is a thinly veiled costume drama, using an 18th-century tale to reflect on 19th-century reality. It follows the story of Ann, a 'new woman' who is surrounded by a society of manoeuvres and lies; The Madras House follows the fortunes of the Madras family at the height of Edwardian expansion of London and the reformation of ideas about society and gender roles; His Majesty is the fictional story of the king of a cash-strapped Eastern European country where naive make-believe meets the dark universe of realpolitik; Farewell to the Theatre is a witty commentary on the trials and tribulations of a theatre and its actors. This is a companion volume to Granville Barker Plays: One, which contains The Voysey Inheritance, Waste, The Secret Life, Rococo and Vote by Ballot.