The Theatre of Joseph Conrad Reconstructed Fictions

This book is the first full-length appraisal and critical analysis of Joseph Conrad and the theatre. Although the dramatic dimension to Conrad's fiction has always been acknowledged, his experiments in drama have traditionally been marginalised. Conrad wrote three plays - One Day More, Laughing Anne and The Secret Agent - and was closely involved in the dramatisation of Victory. All four plays represent a serious investigation of the dramatic form and some of them were startlingly ahead of their time. Furthermore, they are all adaptations, and the creation of them yields fascinating results with generic, stylistic and thematic ramifications. This book analyses each of the plays in close relation to the original fiction and contextualises them in relation to relevant theatrical genres such as melodrama and the Grand-Guignol as well as relating them to wider issues such as theatrical censorship and critical reception. Book jacket.

Richard J. Hand is Principal Lecturer in Drama, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd.