Pamela clare goodreads author shelved 4 times as kidnappedhostage avg rating 4. The hostage of zir is a science fiction novel by american writer l. The hostage, play in three acts by brendan behan, produced in 1958 and published in 1962. The hostage is a strong voice piece, but outside the context of the time in which it was written, the political situation being hashed out doesnt resonate too strongly with me as a reader, and so i feel something is lost in the final impact of its negative message about war and enmity. This article is a summary of the literary events and publications of 1958. He wrote an autobiographical account of this detention in borstal boy 1958. Ownership name to front free endpaper, otherwise a very good copy in dust jacket. First staged by joan littlewoods theatre workshop company at the theatre royal, stratford east, london, in 1958, the hostage is a play about a cockney. Civic guards accidentally shoot him in a raid on the house. We know that there are an awful lot of books out there, and we have therefore divided our recommendations. His books, brendan behans island, brendan behans new york and confessions of an irish rebel, published in 1962 and 1964, were dictated into a tape recorder because he was no longer able to write or type for long enough to be able to finish them.
Bel canto by ann patchett, merry christmas, alex cross by james patterson, one breath away by heather gudenkauf, in t. The hostage hardcover january 1, 1958 by brendan behan author 4. Things fall apart by chinua achebe, breakfast at tiffanys by truman capote, the witch of blackbird pond by elizabeth george speare, the once and future. An evergreen book e151, a cloth bound edition, a specially bound and signed edition of. It is a witty and often profound comment on angloirish relationships and on the irish themselves. In the play, an english soldier is held hostage in a brothel by members of. The action of the play is set in a very odd house of illrepute on nelson street, dublin, owned by a former ira commandant. The hostage is a loose 1958 english version, with songs, adapted in a much longer text from a oneact irish language play an giall, by its author, brendan behan. Out of these experiences came his autobiography, borstal boy 1958, and his first stage play, the quare fellow 1954. Ive read various books in griffins presidential agent series, but ive read them out of order. With nigel davenport, howard goorney, and alfred lynch. An essential text in the development of modern british drama first staged by joan littlewoods theatre workshop company at the theatre royal, stratford east, london, in 1958, the hostage is a play about a cockney soldier held as a hostage in a dublin lodging house in exchange for an ira man who is to be hanged in belfast.
October 14 brendan behans play the hostage is first performed in an english version by joan littlewoods theatre workshop at the theatre royal stratford east in london. The hostage depicts the events leading up to the planned execution of an 18yearold ira member in a belfast jail, accused of killing a royal ulster constabulary policeman. A scowling bw photo of behan and a photo of the cast in a scene frm the play. How to find that book youve spent years looking for utne reader. This production transferred from the theatre royal, stratford where it was first produced. October 14 brendan behans play the hostage is first performed in an english version by joan littlewoods theatre workshop at the.
Things fall apart by chinua achebe, breakfast at tiffanys by truman capote, the cat in the hat comes back by. The play, which is considered behans masterwork, employs ballads, slapstick, and fantasies to satirize social conditions and warfare. Like the protagonist of the quare fellow, the audience never sees him. Also this year, behans autobiographical borstal boy is published in london, and on november 12 it is banned in ireland by the censorship of publications. Behan had married beatrice salkeld daughter of the painter cecil salkeld in 1955. London, in 1958, the hostage is a play about a cockney soldier held as a hostage in a dublin lodging house in exchange for an ira man who is to be hanged in belfast.