{"product_id":"9781408162194","title":"Coward Plays: 1: Hay Fever; The Vortex; Fallen Angels; Easy Virtue","description":"This first volume in the Coward Collection contains four plays written within a two year period when Coward\u003cbr\u003eand the century were still in their 20s. The volume is introduced by Sheridan Morley,\u003cbr\u003eCoward's first biographer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHay Fever\u003c\/i\u003e, a comedy of bad\u003cbr\u003emanners, concerns a weekend with friends of the Bliss family, who have\u003cbr\u003eall been invited independently for a weekend at their country house\u003cbr\u003enear Maidenhead. \u003ci\u003e The Vortex\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ewas a controversial drama in its time, introducing drug-addiction onto\u003cbr\u003ethe stage at a time when alcoholism was barely mentioned. \u003ci\u003eFallen Angels\u003c\/i\u003e, which is written for two star actresses\u003cbr\u003ewas described as 'degenerate', 'vile', 'obscene', 'shocking' - the\u003cbr\u003esecond half of the play is entirely taken up with an alcoholic duologue\u003cbr\u003ebetween the two women. \u003ci\u003eEasy Virtue\u003c\/i\u003e is an elegant, laconic tribute to a\u003cbr\u003elost world of drawing-room dramas, no other writer went more directly\u003cbr\u003eto the jugular of that moralistic, tight-lipped but fundamentally\u003cbr\u003ehypocritical 20s society. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"He is simply a phenomenon, and one that is unlikely to occur ever\u003cbr\u003eagain in theatre history\" Terence Rattigan","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47151928672496,"sku":"9781408162194","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781408162194_p0.jpg?v=1763718138","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781408162194","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}