PLAYS THREE (3): Luther; A Patriot for Me; Inadmissable Evidence (1/1 - PBO)

John Osborne (with an introduction by the author)

ISBN 10: 0571178472 / ISBN 13: 9780571178476

Published by Faber & Faber, London, 1998

About this Item

First impression of the first collected edition, with the full number-string sequence: 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 on the printer's page. ***Very good in matt-finish card covers. The covers are clean but please note that there is a slight abrasion and scuffing from an old price-sticker on the front cover (which comes through to the inside cover). No creases or tears. No reading lean to the binding. No reading creases to the spine. Spine tight. Spine colour very slightly faded. Some yellowing to the page block edges and light foxing to the top edge. Internally near fine, with no inscriptions. Pages clean - paper stock lightly tanned. No creases or tears. ***198mm x 128mm. ix prelim pages including three-page introduction written by the author from 'Almost a Gentleman' (Faber and Faber, 1991) plus 264 printed pages plus one-page of publisher's titles at the back of the book. ***'John James Osborne (12 Dec 1929 - 24 Dec 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. Born in London, he briefly worked as a journalist before starting out in theatre as a stage manager and actor. He lived in poverty for several years before his third produced play, "Look Back in Anger" (1956), brought him national fame. "The Entertainer" (1957), "Luther" (1961), and "Inadmissable Evidence" (1964) were also well-received'. (Wiki) ***'This third collection of John Osborne's dramatic work includes three classic plays for the stage which confirm his reputation as one of the greatest British playwrights of the twentieth century. ***A Patriot for Me: "It is a landmark play in its open treatment of homosexuality and in the breadth of its historical canvas --- few post-war plays have dealt so brilliantly with the way the individual, in rejecting the ethos of his society, also uncannily reflects it." - Guardian. ***Luther: "The language is urgent and sinewy, packed with images that derive from bone, blood and marrow; the prose, especially in Luther's sermons, throbs with a rhetorical zeal that has not been heard in English historical drama since the seventeenth century." - Kenneth Tynan. ***Inadmissible Evidence: "This is a work of stunning and intemperate power, a great bellow of rage and pain --- there is a self-lacerating honesty about his writing that few other playwrights have come close to matching." - Daily Telegraph. (Quote and review quotes taken from the back cover) ***First impression of the first collected edition. A paperback original (PBO). ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 3772x

Bibliographic Details

• Title: PLAYS THREE (3): Luther; A Patriot for Me; Inadmissable Evidence (1/1 - PBO)
• Publisher: Faber & Faber, London
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571178472
• ISBN 13: 9780571178476
• Binding: Original Wraps
• Edition: First Collected Edition
• Printing: First Impression
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket, as Issued
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • First Editions
  • Collectable Paperbacks

About this title

Synopsis

This third collection of John Osborne's dramatic work includes three classic plays for the stage which confirm his reputation as one of the greatest British playwrights of the twentieth century.

A Patriot for Me
'It is a landmark play in its open treatment of homosexuality and in the breadth of its historical canvas... few post-war plays have dealt so brilliantly with the way the individual, in rejecting the ethos of his society, also uncannily reflects it.' Guardian

Luther
'The language is urgent and sinewy, packed with images that derive from bone, blood and marrow; the prose, especially in Luther's sermons, throbs with a rhetorical zeal that has not been heard in English historical drama since the seventeenth century.' Kenneth Tynan

Inadmissible Evidence
'This is a work of stunning and intemperate power, a great bellow of rage and pain... there is a self-lacerating honesty about his writing that few other playwrights have come close to matching.' Daily Telegraph

About the Author

John Osborne was born in London in 1929. Before becoming a playwright he worked as a journalist, assistant stage manager and repertory theatre actor. Seeing an advertisement for new plays in The Stage in 1956, Osborne submitted Look Back in Anger. Not only was the play produced, but it was to become considered as the turning point in post-war British theatre. Osborne's protagonist, Jimmy Porter, captured the rebelliousness of an entire post-war generation of 'angry young men'. His other plays include The Entertainer (1957), Luther (1961), Inadmissible Evidence (1964), and A Patriot for Me (1966). He also wrote two volumes of autobiography, A Better Class of Person (1981) and Almost a Gentleman (1991) published together as Looking Back: Never Explain, Never Apologise. His last play, Deja Vu (1991), returns to the characters of Look Back in Anger, over thirty years later. Both Look Back in Anger and The Entertainer were adapted for film, and in 1963 Osborne won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Tom Jones. John Osborne died on 24 December 1994.