Synopses & Reviews
INCLUDES THE NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED NOVEL
In print for the first time ever, author and philosopher Ayn Rands novel Ideal.
Originally conceived as a novel but then transformed into a play by Ayn Rand, Ideal is the story of beautiful but tormented actress Kay Gonda. Accused of murder, she is on the run, and she turns for help to six fans who have written letters to her, each telling her that she represents their ideala respectable family man, a far-left activist, a cynical artist, an evangelist, a playboy, and a lost soul. Each reacts to her plight in his own way, their reactions a glimpse into their secret selves and their true values. In the end their responses to her pleas give Kay the answers she has been seeking.
Ideal was written in 1934 as a novel, but Ayn Rand thought the theme of the piece would be better realized as a play and put the novel aside. Now, both versions of Ideal are available for the first time ever to the millions of Ayn Rand fans around the world, giving them a unique opportunity to explore the creative process of Rand as she wrote first a book, then a play, and the differences between the two.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LEONARD PEIKOFF
Synopsis
This remarkable, newly revised collection of Ayn Rand's early fiction—including her previously unpublished short story The Night King—ranges from beginner's exercises to excerpts from early versions of We the Living and The Fountainhead.
About the Author
Born February 2, 1905, Ayn Rand published her first novel, We The Living, in 1936. Anthem followed in 1938. It was with the publication of The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) that she achieved her spectacular success. Ms. Rands unique philosophy, Objectivism, is still widely discussed today.
Table of Contents
The Early Ayn Rand
Preface to the Revised Edition Introduction
Part I: The Twenties
The Husband I Bought
The Night King
Good Copy
Escort
Her Second Career
Part II: The Early Thirties
Red Pawn
We the Living (Unpublished Excerpts)
"No"
Kira's Viking
Ideal
Part III: The Late Thirties
Think Twice
The Fountainhead (Unpublished Excerpts)
Vesta Dunning
Roark and Cameron
The Simplest Thing in the World