The Gymnasium of the Imagination: A Collection of Children's Plays in English, 1780-1860

Author:   Jonathan Levy
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Volume:   No 40
ISBN:  

9780313266973


Pages:   296
Publication Date:   27 May 1992
Recommended Age:   From 7 to 17 years
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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The Gymnasium of the Imagination: A Collection of Children's Plays in English, 1780-1860


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Overview

Although children's plays of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are rarely anthologized or even mentioned in reference books or histories of theatre, theatre historian and playwright Jonathan Levy found an embarrassment of riches when he set about developing this collection. Applying several criteria, which are noted in his preface, he found himself especially captivated by plays presenting scenes of real life and in which the dialogue sounds like the real talk of boys and girls of the period. Most of the plays remain interesting as plays to be read and perhaps produced, not just as historical curiosities. Included are plays representative of five major genres, which Levy identifies in his analytical introduction: Dramatic Proverbs and other moral tales; History Plays, including sacred and secular history; Sentimental Comedies; Fairy Tales and Eastern Tales; and Familiar Dialogues. Included among the playwrights are Charles Stearns (1753-1826), a Harvard graduate and tutor and prominent minister, and Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849), an English writer known also for her Irish novels for adults and her writings on education. Each of the ten plays is prefaced by a biographical sketch on the playwright and critical notes on the play. Illustrations from some of the original publications are reprinted.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jonathan Levy
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Praeger Publishers Inc
Volume:   No 40
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.595kg
ISBN:  

9780313266973


ISBN 10:   0313266972
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   27 May 1992
Recommended Age:   From 7 to 17 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Plays The Blind Woman of Spa (1781) by STEphanie FeliciTE Ducrest, Comtesse de Genlis Moses in the Bulrushes (1782) by Hannah More The Dancing Master's Ball by Arnaud Berquin The Wooden Boy (1798) by Charles Stearns The Fib Found Out (1808) by William Godwin Dumb Andy (1827) by Maria Edgeworth Much Coin, Much Care (1829) by Anna Jameson Quarter-Day, (1841) by William Fowle Beauty and the Beast (1854) by Julie Corner Mrs. Peck's Pudding (1859) by Eliza Follen Bibliography Index

Reviews

If you're looking for something unusual in children's theater, check out The Gymnasium of the Imagination: A Collection of Children's Plays in English, 1780-1860. . . . A wonderful collection. -Stage Directions ?If you're looking for something unusual in children's theater, check out The Gymnasium of the Imagination: A Collection of Children's Plays in English, 1780-1860. . . . A wonderful collection.?-Stage Directions


?If you're looking for something unusual in children's theater, check out The Gymnasium of the Imagination: A Collection of Children's Plays in English, 1780-1860. . . . A wonderful collection.?-Stage Directions


Author Information

JONATHAN LEVY is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Theatre Arts at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is also a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Levy is an accomplished playwright and also has contributed numerous chapters and drama criticism to scholarly books and journals.

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