Is he dead? : a comedy in three acts / Mark Twain ; edited with foreword, afterword, and notes by Shelley Fisher Fishkin ; text established by the Mark Twain Project, the Bancroft Library ; illustrations by Barry Moser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.

Contributor:

Fishkin, Shelley Fisher.

Bancroft Library. Mark Twain Project.

Series:

Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. Jumping frogs.

Jumping frogs

Jumping Frogs: Undiscovered, Rediscovered, and Celebrated Writings of Mark Twain

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Artists--Drama.

Artists.

Death--Drama.

Death.

Barbizon (France)--Drama.

Barbizon (France).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

The University of California Press is delighted to announce the new publication of this three-act play by one of America's most important and well-loved writers. A highly entertaining comedy that has never appeared in print or on stage, Is He Dead? is finally available to the wide audience Mark Twain wished it to reach. Written in 1898 in Vienna as Twain emerged from one of the deepest depressions of his life, the play shows its author's superb gift for humor operating at its most energetic. The text of Is He Dead?, based on the manuscript in the Mark Twain Papers, appears here together with an illuminating essay by renowned Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin and with Barry Moser's original woodcut illustrations in a volume that will surely become a treasured addition to the Mark Twain legacy. Richly intermingling elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire with a wry look at the world market in art, Is He Dead? centers on a group of poor artists in Barbizon, France, who stage the death of a friend to drive up the price of his paintings. In order to make this scheme succeed, the artists hatch some hilarious plots involving cross-dressing, a full-scale fake funeral, lovers' deceptions, and much more. Mark Twain was fascinated by the theater and made many attempts at playwriting, but this play is certainly his best. Is He Dead? may have been too "out there" for the Victorian 1890's, but today's readers will thoroughly enjoy Mark Twain's well-crafted dialogue, intriguing cast of characters, and above all, his characteristic ebullience and humor. In Shelley Fisher Fishkin's estimation, it is "a champagne cocktail of a play--not too dry, not too sweet, with just the right amount of bubbles and buzz."

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Foreword

Is He Dead? by Mark Twain

Afterword

Notes

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612772092

9781282772090

1282772090

9780520939899

0520939891

OCLC:

773565070