Elizabeth Robins


Book Description

Beautiful and talented, versatile and charismatic, Elizabeth Robins was one of the foremost actresses of her day. Yet, this enduring character was also an active and lifelong feminist. This biography examines Elizabeth's historical identity and provides a study of the social culture surrounding a woman who lived a life in the spotlight.




Creative Negativity


Book Description

Focusing on the early Modern and Victorian periods, the author finds covert revolutionaries in four familiar practitioners of a strategy she calls creative negativity: poet-photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), novelist-essayist Anne Thackeray Ritchie (1837-1919), activist-spiritual leader Annie Besant (1847-1933), and actress-writer Elizabeth Robins (1862-1952).




Elizabeth Robins, 1862–1952


Book Description

This biography of Elizabeth Robins (1862-1952) presents the story of a woman who - through her acting, writing and political activism - consistently challenged existing roles for women. The author has drawn upon a vast collection of her private papers.




Reform and Revolution


Book Description

The author made use of recently available collections of personal letters and documents of Progressive reformer Raymond Robins in the papers of his sister, Elizabeth Robins, at the Fales Library of New York University to develop this complete analysis of Robins and his work.




Women in Modern Drama


Book Description

An abundance of rich and memorable female roles is one of the most striking features of turn-of-the-century European drama. Gail Finney traces the source of this phenomenon to large-scale upheavals in prevailing contemporary attitudes toward women. She cites two major developments in particular: the culmination in the years 1880–1920 of the first feminist movement; and Freud's formulation of his theories of sexuality, which emphasize differences between the sexes. Taking into account these strong, sometimes conflicting intellectual currents, Women in Modern Drama explores the dynamics of gender identity and family relationships in major plays by European make dramatists, including Ibsen, Strindberg, Shaw, Wilde, Schnitzler, Synge, Hofmannsthal, Wedekind, and Hauptmann.




Women, Modernism, and Performance


Book Description

Women, Modernism, and Performance is an interdisciplinary 2004 study that looks at a variety of texts and modes of performance in order to clarify the position of women within - and in relation to - modern theatre history. Considering drama, fiction and dance, as well as a range of performance events such as suffrage demonstrations, lectures, and legal trials, Penny Farfan expands on theatre historical narratives that note the centrality of female characters in male-authored modern plays but that do not address the efforts of women artists to develop alternatives both to mainstream theatre practice and to the patriarchal avant garde. Focusing on Henrik Ibsen, Elizabeth Robins, Ellen Terry, Virginia Woolf, Djuna Barnes, Edith Craig, Radclyffe Hall and Isadora Duncan, Farfan identifies different objectives, strategies, possibilities and limitations of feminist-modernist performance practice and suggests how the artists in question transformed the representation of gender in art and life.




Adapting to the Stage


Book Description

This title was first published in 2000: The American novelist and playwright, Henry James, was drawn to the theatre and the shifting conventions of drama throughout his writing career. This study demonstrates that from the 1890s onwards James concentrated on adapting his novels and stories to and from the stage, and increasingly employed metaphors that spoke of novel-writing in terms of playwriting. Christopher Greenwood argues that these metaphors helped James to conceive himself as an artist who composed characters dramatically and visually, and in doing so sets his novels significantly apart from those of his contemporaries. In the introduction to the first part of the book, Greenwood examines James's career within the context of contemporary European and North American theatre, providing an appraisal of what James gained from contemporary theatre, his position in that milieu, and what he brought to it. Part 2 of the book focuses on two novels: "The Other House" and "The Spoils of Poynton", both of which illustrate the ways in which James used the mechanism of contemporary theatre to communicate a character's personality. Discussion of these two works is used to throw light on similar concerns that develop in James's later writing.




Looking Elsewhere


Book Description




Armenia


Book Description

This new, thoroughly updated sixth edition of Bradt’s Armenia remains the only standalone, English-language guide to this mountainous post-Soviet republic at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Packed with detailed background information and invaluable practical advice, Bradt’s Armenia remains the essential choice for anyone travelling to this beautiful country, which is now easily and cheaply accessed by air. Following recent political changes, the story of this new republic is rapidly being rewritten, with transformations extending far beyond the vibrant capital of Yerevan. Road infrastructure has greatly improved, while rural tourism is coming to life in even far-flung provinces, thereby catering for visitors exploring well off the beaten path. New elements in this edition include: expanded treatment of new budget accommodation in Yerevan and provincial capitals; enhanced information on Yerevan designed to inspire the city-break visitor, encompassing arts, culture and nightlife; a wealth of new information for adventurous travellers, including about more than 300km of new hiking trails established since 2018; and an enhanced language section designed to facilitate communication with Armenians. Bradt’s Armenia provides the information needed for a successful trip, covering all the most popular sights as well as those off-the-beaten track, including Dilijan National Park and the stunning forested mountains of Tavush, a region undergoing a renaissance as a place to reconnect with nature; Areni village, one of the birthplaces of wine; and Vayots Dzor, the ‘valley of woes’, whose side valleys are abundant with wildlife-spotting opportunities. Tatev village and the Vorotan Canyon are included, as are the Orbelian’s Ccaravanserai and other remnants of the ancient Silk Road trading route network that once criss-crossed the Caucasus region. Rich in both history and spectacular scenery, Armenia is a truly captivating country. Whether seeking out ancient monasteries dotted within dramatic landscapes, wandering through one of Yerevan’s impressive museums or admiring the intricate stone carvings at Noratus, you’ll find opportunities to delve into this nation’s past at every turn. Add to this the welcoming local people, superb hiking possibilities and abundant bird life, and you’ll soon discover why Armenia is worth more than just a fleeting visit.




Suppression and Suspicion


Book Description

Edmund Harkins has gone missing. Few would confess to liking the man – a wife-beater and distinctly unsavoury character – so when some hungry pigs disinter his corpse in a shallow grave, there is hardly an outpouring of grief. However, this intensifies the problem Sir Hugh faces: as bailiff of Bampton it is his duty to discover who has slain Edmund. But if he does, he will earn the enmity of villagers who are pleased the scoundrel is dead, and who knows what repercussions might follow? To further complicate Hugh's life, the Bishop of Exeter has sent a new vicar to Bampton, his nephew, who behaves in an obnoxious manner to Lady Katherine’s maid, and seems obsessed with discovering any heretical views Hugh might hold. The vicar also, it transpires, is contributing to the unhealthy atmosphere of suppression and suspicion that has come to pervade the village . . .