From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, an outstanding array of short fiction that surveys the terrain between the illusory and the ordinary and reveals the terrors and wonders reflected in the funhouse mirrors of our dreams―one of ten classic Gaiman works repackaged with elegant original watercolor art by acclaimed artist Henry Sene Yee "He is a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him." --Stephen King Spanning the realms of dark imagination, Smoke and Mirrors surveys the terrain between the illusory and the ordinary, treating readers to a gift of wonder and delight from one of the most unique literary artists of our time. The miraculous inventions contained herein - stories, novellas, and poems - reveal Gaiman to be a writer of immense talent and sophisticated invention. In his deft hands, magic is no mere illusion, but a powerful means of illumination, revelation, and reflection on what it means to be human. Poignant and haunting, humorous and unorthodox, Smoke and Mirrors is an outstanding array of short fiction from one of the world's most distinguished literary masters.

A hardcover edition of this book was published in 2015... First William Morrow paperback edition published 2016. Second William Morrow paperback edition published 2021."--Title page verso./ Includes the novella How the marquis got his coat back./ Published in 1997, Neil Gaiman's first novel, Neverwhere is the story of Richard Mayhew, a young London businessman with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he discovers a girl bleeding on the sidewalk. He stops to help her -- an act of kindness that plunges him into a world he never dreamed existed. Slipping through the cracks of reality, Richard lands in Neverwhere -- a London of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth. Neverwhere is home to Door, the mysterious girl Richard helped in the London Above. Here in Neverwhere, Door is a powerful noblewoman who has vowed to find the evil agent of her family's slaughter and thwart the destruction of this strange underworld kingdom. If Richard is ever to return to his former life and home, he must join Lady Door's quest to save her world -- and may well die trying.

When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family's Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father's hidden desires. Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.

Soon to be a streaming series! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, a tale playful, profound, and rife with mayhem and mischief―one of ten classic Gaiman works repackaged with elegant original watercolor art by acclaimed artist Henry Sene Yee When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed--before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life. Because Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie. Neil Gaiman journeys deep into myth to brings us a tale playful, profound, and rife with mayhem and mischief--an audacious and inspired story of family, luck, deceit, and an unusual legacy that illuminates the divine in our humanity. Not to mention a lime. "Awesomely inventive.... When you take the free-fall plunge into a Neil Gaiman book, anything can happen and anything invariably does." --Entertainment Weekly

Two minor characters from Hamlet offer a novel view of the melancholy Dane.

Egri's treatise The Art of Dramatic Writing was first published in 1946 and remains today one of the best creative writing "how to" books ever written. It is a concise guide to all forms of creative writing, from premise to characters to plot, with special attention to the heart of any drama which are its characters and their inner natures and inter-relationships that move a story and give it life. Few books attempt to analyze play-construction as well as this book, and its principles and methods are so valid that they apply equally well to the short story, novel, and screenplay.

The Seagull , a spectacular failure on its first appearance, was the play that, on its second, established Anton Chekhov as an important and revolutionary dramatist. Here, amid the weariness of life in the country, the famous actress Arkadina presides over a household riven with desperate love, with dreams of success and dread of failure. It is her son, Konstantin, who one day shoots a seagull; it is the novelist Trigorin who will one day write the story of the seagull so casually killed; but it is Nina, the seagull herself, whose life to come will rewrite the story. This new translation of The Seagull --made by Tom Stoppard for the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic in 1997--was produced by The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival in New York City in 2001. The volume also contains an Introduction by Stoppard that indicates some of the problems translators have faced since the first English language Seagull in 1909

Broadcast from New York's Mercury Theatre in 1938, this infamous radio play, based on the novel by H. G. Wells, had many terrified listeners convinced that an actual alien invasion of Earth was taking place. Adapted by Howard E. Koch, co-writer of Casablanca, and directed and narrated by Orson Welles, this original script detailing the frightening tale of an extraterrestrial takeover is now available to bring to life onstage to thrill and chill audiences.

O, The Oprah Magazine, Time Magazine, Financial Times, Esquire, Bustle, Lit Hub, Electric Literature, Library Journal, Brooklyn Based, Avenue BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR New York Times Editors' Choice "Superb. . . . Krauss's depictions of the nuances of sex and love, intimacy and dependence, call to mind the work of Natalia Ginzburg in their psychological profundity, their intellectual rigor. . . . Krauss's stories capture characters at moments in their lives when they're hungry for experience and open to possibilities, and that openness extends to the stories themselves: narratives too urgent and alive for neat plotlines, simplistic resolutions or easy answers." --Molly Antopol, New York Times Book Review "From a contemporary master, an astounding collection of ten globetrotting stories, each one a powerful dissection of the thorny connections between men and women. . . . Each story is masterfully crafted and deeply contemplative, barreling toward a shimmering, inevitable conclusion, proving once again that Krauss is one of our most formidable talents in fiction." --Esquire In one of her strongest works of fiction yet, Nicole Krauss plunges fearlessly into the struggle to understand what it is to be a man and what it is to be a woman, and the arising tensions that have existed from the very beginning of time. Set in our contemporary moment, and moving across the globe from Switzerland, Japan, and New York City to Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, and South America, the stories in To Be a Man feature male characters as fathers, lovers, friends, children, seducers, and even a lost husband who may never have been a husband at all. The way these stories mirror one other and resonate is beautiful, with a balance so finely tuned that the book almost feels like a novel. Echoes ring through stages of life: aging parents and new-born babies; young women's coming of age and the newfound, somewhat bewildering sexual power that accompanies it; generational gaps and unexpected deliveries of strange new leases on life; mystery and wonder at a life lived or a future waiting to unfold. To Be a Man illuminates with a fierce, unwavering light the forces driving human existence: sex, power, violence, passion, self-discovery, growing older. Profound, poignant, and brilliant, Krauss's stories are at once startling and deeply moving, but always revealing of all-too-human weakness and strength.

Perfectly preserving the tone and mood of the novel whilst condensing it into two acts, David Malouf, with the gift for language already evident from his novels and poetry, presents afresh the timeless story of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, one of the most enduring literary classics of all time. The love between Jane and Mr Rochester, and the mystery of the woman behind the locked door, are here set to music in the opera composed by Michael Berkeley.

Adapted from Daniel Woodrell's novel, Ride with the Devil tells the epic story of a group of young Bushwackers - Missouri guerilla fighters who waged a desperate and bloody battle against Union occupiers during the American Civil War. As the war progresses, two of the fighters - a former slave and the son of an immigrant worker - find they have more in common with each other than with their fellow fighters, who begin to suspect them of treason. This book includes a foreward by Ang Lee, and introduction by Schamus in which he discusses the challenge of bringing novels to life on the screen, and copious notes detailing how the finished film differs from the production script - and explaining the behind-the-scenes reasons why.

This Marcel Proust's seven-volume novel brings together memories of childhood and Parisian society before and during the First World War. This adaptation is based on Harold Pinter's screenplay, written at the request of the film director Joseph Losey in 1972. 'Remembrance of Things Past' premiered at the Royal National Theatre in November 2000.

Drama / 3m, 3f (w/doubling) / Unit set Newly revised edition! From the author of the best-selling novel, The House of God, this critically acclaimed version which played Off-Broadway in 2007, tells the amazing story of the two men who pioneered Alcoholics Anonymous, and of their wives, who founded Al Anon. During the roaring '20s, New York stockbroker Bill Wilson rides high on money, fame, and booze. In '29, both he and the market crash and he becomes a hopeless drunk. Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon

Donald Margulies offers up a vivid new adaptation of Sholom Asch's 1906 Yiddish melodrama, reset on the Lower East Side of New York at the turn of the century. The original English language edition first appeared on Broadway in 1923, but was closed down and the cast arrested for its portrayal of a lesbian love affair on stage. "Teasing out the pesky questions of spirit, love, family and commerce at the heart of Asch's play, Margulies has achieved crossover success, making "God of Vengeance "a profoundly American play."-Alisa Solomon, "Village Voice " Sholom Asch was a noted Yiddish novelist and playwright. Donald Margulies is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Dinner with Friends." His other work includes "Collected Stories "and "Sight Unseen."

Dramatic Comedy / 2mWhat if all your dreams came true. . . for your best friend? The Four of Us follows Ben whose first novel vaults him into literary stardom and his friend David a struggling playwright who is thrilled by Ben's success. . . and crushed by it. From the dreams of aspiring youth to the realities of adulthood this poignant two-man comedy explores friendship and memory the gap between our hopes and our lives and the struggles between our egos and our capacity to love.An extreme"

David Fishelson has transformed Dostoyevsky's The Idiot into a spellbinding drama that illuminates the titanic novel. In The Idiot, meet the kindly, childlike Prince Myshkin, as he returns to the decadent social whirl of 1860s St. Petersburg. The two most beautiful, sought-after women in the town compete for his affections, in a duel that grows increasingly dangerous.

In the 1930s, Ayn Rand was asked to adapt her first novel , We the Living , for the theatre. Her first statement against communism, it sold over 3 million copies. This edition contains two unpublished versions of the play (the latter entitled The Unconquered ), and is the first substantial piece of Rand's fiction to publish in over twenty years.

"Brilliant . . . even more ambitious than Vogel's "How I Learned to Drive" . . . it covers more ground and is bolder in its storytelling. Vogel's language is at its most poetic, eloquent and elegiac. In fact, its vivid imagery rivals the prose style of any great American short story writer. The play sounds like it might have been adapted from a beautiful, undiscovered novella."-"New Haven Register" "One of the most absorbing evenings of theatre to come along in some time."-"Variety" Past and present collide on a snowy Christmas Eve for a troubled family of five. Humorous and heart-wrenching, this beautifully written play proves that magic can be found in the simplest breaths of life. Combining the elements of No theatre and Bunraku with contemporary Western sensibilities, Vogel's "Ride" is a mesmerizing homage to the works of Thornton Wilder, including "Our Town." A moving and memorable study of the American family careening near the edge of oblivion. Paula Vogel's plays include "The Baltimore Waltz," "Mineola Twins," "Hot 'n' Throbbing," "Desdemona," "And Baby Makes Seven," among others. Ms. Vogel will be the resident playwright during the Signature Theatre's 2004?05 season dedicated to her works. She has taught at Brown University in the MFA playwriting program since 1985.

Comedy Joseph Fields and Peter de Vries adapted from the novel by Mr. de Vries Characters: 2 male 4 female Interior Set Tom Ewell played the Broadway part of a suburban husband in a 5 year childless marriage. He and his wife decide to adopt a baby but a loud mouth neighbor upsets the apple cart when the adoption investigator comes to call. However not to be outdone Ewell finds himself in the clutches of the investigator who has suddenly turned color. Later she announces that she is pregnant and is going off to have the baby. She will see that the man and his wife receive the child in due time through the agency. Shortly after the baby arrives however the wife learns of the matter and starts packing to go home to Mother. But it turns out that the adopted baby was not fathered by the husband and also that the wife is now herself pregnant; and matters are mended. "It offers laugh after laugh." N.Y. World Telegram & Sun.

The Ladies of the Corridor is a novel written by Dorothy Parker, an American writer, poet, and critic. The book is a story about a group of elderly women living in a retirement home called the Tamarack Lodge. The main character, Mrs. Laura Sheridan, is a widow who has been living in the lodge for several years. She is bored with her life and feels trapped in the routine of the home. However, she finds solace in the company of her fellow residents, who are all women of a certain age.The novel explores the lives of these women and their experiences of aging, loneliness, and the loss of independence. The ladies of the corridor are portrayed as strong and resilient, despite their physical limitations. They find comfort in each other's company and support each other through the challenges of growing old.The story takes a dramatic turn when a new resident, Mrs. Pearl Jewett, arrives at the lodge. Mrs. Jewett is a vibrant and outspoken woman who challenges the status quo of the home. She encourages the other women to stand up for themselves and demand better treatment from the staff. Her arrival causes tension and conflict among the residents and staff, and the novel explores the dynamics of power and control in the home.Overall, The Ladies of the Corridor is a poignant and insightful novel about aging, friendship, and the resilience of the human spirit. Dorothy Parker's writing is sharp and witty, with a deep understanding of the human condition. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the experiences of older women and the challenges they face in society.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.