Synopses & Reviews
Widely acclaimed as one of America's most distinguished female playwrights, Lillian Hellman made an entrance into a largely male-dominated field in 1934 with
The Children's Hour, a drama that rocked the literary establishment with its frank treatment of lesbianism while calling attention to her writing talents. Written between 1934 and 1963, Hellman's dramatic canon includes eight original plays and four adaptations. Two of these,
Watch on the Rhine (1941) and
Toys in the Attic (1960), received Drama Critics' Circle Awards. In addition to her dramatic activities, she wrote three memoirs and a novella, contributed articles to national magazines, edited ChekoV&Apos;s letters and Dashiell Hammett's mysteries, and penned several screenplays. She is probably best known for The Little FoxeS≪/i> (1939), her drama about a family of predatory entrepreneurs who seek to build an industrial fortune on the ruins of the old South.
Both a quick reference guide and an exhaustive resource, this volume provides broad and thorough coverage of Hellman's dramatic career. It begins with a critical overview of her life, along with a chronology of her accomplishments. The bulk of the book, which treats her eight original plays and four adaptations, all written for the Broadway stage, provides detailed plot summaries, stage histories, and critical overviews. The next section offers an annotated bibliography of primary sources. This is followed by an annotated secondary bibliography, which is divided into sections on reviews, books, and articles. Entries in the bibliographies are first arranged chronologically and then alphabetically, so that the reader can gain a fuller sense of the development of Hellman's career and the response to her works over time. Detailed indexes conclude the volume and offer full alphabetical access to its contents.
Review
[A] comprehensive listing of the considerable scholarship available on Hellman.American Reference Books Annual
Synopsis
Includes a critical biography of Hellman; plot summaries, stage histories, and critical overviews of her plays; and extensive bibliographic information.
Synopsis
From the writing of her first play, The Children's Hour (1934), to the time of her death fifty years later, Lillian Hellman's career was engulfed in controversy. During that time she wrote eight original plays, four adaptations for the Broadway stage, three memoirs, and a novella. She also wrote and adapted screenplays and contributed to numerous other literary activities. This volume is a comprehensive reference guide to her dramatic works. The book includes a brief critical biography and a chronology; plot summaries, production histories, and critical overviews for her plays; and extensive bibliographical material. For the student unacquainted with Hellman's works, the plot synopses and critical commentaries provide helpful information. For the researcher, the critical discussions and annotated bibliographic entries summarize the response to Hellman from the beginning of her career to the present. And for the theatre practitioner, the summaries of reviews and the production histories show how critics have responded to various performances and may suggest new approaches to staging her works.
About the Author
BARBARA LEE HORN is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Speech, Communication Sciences, and Theatre at St. John's University in New York.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chronology
Life and Career
The Plays: Summaries, Productions, and Critical Overviews
Primary Bibliography
Secondary Bibliography: Reviews
Secondary Bibliography: Books, Articles, Sections
Index