{"product_id":"coward-plays-4-blithe-spirit-present-laughter-this-happy-breed-tonight-at-8-30-ii-1","title":"Coward Plays: 4: Blithe Spirit; Present Laughter; This Happy Breed; Tonight at 8.30 (II)","description":"\u003cp\u003eVolume Four of Noël Coward's plays contains a selection of Coward's\u003cbr\u003eplays from the thirties and forties which includes \u003ci\u003eBlithe Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e, a\u003cbr\u003ecomedy that centres around the spirit medium Madame Arcati. The play\u003cbr\u003ethat mocks sudden death was produced at precisely the moment when bombs\u003cbr\u003ewere bringing it to Britain \"I shall ever be grateful, for the almost\u003cbr\u003epsychic gift that enabled me to write \u003ci\u003eBlithe Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e in five days during\u003cbr\u003eone of the darkest years of the war.\" The play was for years the\u003cbr\u003elongest-running comedy in the history of British theatre. \u003ci\u003ePresent\u003cbr\u003eLaughter\u003c\/i\u003e follows the life of Garry Essendine, a world-weary, \u003cbr\u003emiddle-aged projection of the dilettante, debonair persona -\u003cbr\u003eself-obsessed and dressing-gowned who struts through the play like an\u003cbr\u003eeducated peacock. It is a comedy about the 'theatricals' that Noël best\u003cbr\u003eknew and loved, and was originally a star vehicle for himself. It is\u003cbr\u003ethe closest to an autobiographical play that Coward ever wrote. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis\u003cbr\u003eHappy Breed\u003c\/i\u003e is a saga of a lower middle-class family; and three shorter\u003cbr\u003epieces from\u003ci\u003eTonight at 8.30 \u003c\/i\u003e- is a farce set in the South of France, \u003cbr\u003eand serves as an oblique tribute to Frederick Lonsdale; \u003ci\u003eThe Astonished\u003cbr\u003eHeart\u003c\/i\u003e is about the decay of a psychiatrist's mind through personal\u003cbr\u003esexual obsession. \u003ci\u003eRed Peppers\u003c\/i\u003e, which closes the volume, was a cynical\u003cbr\u003etribute to the lost music halls of the First World War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-10452021\"\u003eNoel Coward\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-4549289\"\u003eNoal Coward\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Publishing PLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 512\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.24lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.98h x 4.99w x 1.23d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780413461209\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0413461203\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-DRA\"\u003eDrama\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-DRA003000\"\u003eEuropean | English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44580215980269,"sku":"9780413461209","price":41.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_079d0fbb-3ff9-48ec-ac0f-a959d2083f44.jpg?v=1702072530","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/es\/products\/coward-plays-4-blithe-spirit-present-laughter-this-happy-breed-tonight-at-8-30-ii-1","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}