This collection of fifteen essays offers both student and theatergoer a guide to the stage plays, novel, and screenplays of one of the most celebrated British dramatists since Noel Coward. Readers will find that the general and accessible description and analyses in these essays makes the large body of Stoppards writing clear and approachable while preserving its rich humor. This is the first collection of essays to appear in many years addressing all of Stoppards major work. It provides insights into the recent plays, Arcadia and Invention of Love, as well as the first extended examination of his work for screen, including a discussion of his co-authored, academy award-winning screenplay Shakespeare in Love. Photographs from key productions, a biography and chronology complete the volume and prepare the reader for future work by this extraordinary writer.
List of illustrations; Notes on contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction Katherine E. Kelly; Part I. Background and Chronology: 1. Exit Tomas Straussler, enter Sir Tom Stoppard: the playwright of unidentical twins Paul Delaney; Chronology Paul Delaney; 2. In the Native State and Indian Ink Josephine Lee; Part II. The Works: 3. Narrative difficulties in Lord Malquist and Mr Moon Peter J. Rabinowitz; 4. Stoppards radio and television plays Elissa Guralnick; 5. Stoppard and film Ira Nadel; 6. The early stage plays Neil Sammells; 7. Travesties, Night and Day, The Real Thing Toby Zinman; 8. Tom Stoppard and politics John Bull; 9. Stoppards Shakespeare: textual re-visions Jill L. Levenson; 10. Science in Hapgood and Arcadia Paul Edwards; 11. The comedy of Eros: Stoppard in Love Hersh Zeifman; Part III. Culture and Context: 12. Tom Stoppards Brit/Lit/Crit Enoch Brater; 13. Is Postmodernism?: Stoppard among/against the Postmodern Michael Vanden Heuvel; 14. The Tom Stoppard Collection at the Harry J. Ransom Humanities Research Center Melisa Miller; Notes; Bibliography Melissa Miller; Index.