Journey's End (Penguin Modern Classics)

Very moving, an exquisite play.

… das auf traurige Art zeitlos ist. Kürzt man die britischen Besonderheiten heraus, dann erscheint es bis in die Gegenwart zeitlos.Leider fehlen hier die angekündigten Essays.

This edition is the hardback edition. Herinemman offer easily affordable hardback editions that will last far longer than any paperback edition.

Its easy to see Journey's End as something of a relic- a sort of 12 angry men (in a trench) with a lot of whiskey sodden talk from mainly upper class characters that provided ample and poignant source material for something like Blackadder Goes Forth, whilst also underpinning the lions led by donkeys school of WW1 History. Yet, on closely reading the play its clear that this is a carefully and cleverly constructed play (more than just well made) which tells a real story about officers whose life expectancy was around 6 weeks in WW1. It was also first produced in 1928, when the appetite for such a visceral and naturalistic version of WW1 must have been reluctant to retread the very real and recent memories of real events. In the centenary year of the end of WW1 it achieves a new resonance , both in highlighting Stanhope's despair and the loss of good men such as Osborne and the younger generation as epitomised by the tragically optimistic Raleigh- a spit of George in Blackadder Goes Forth, as is Mason the cook, a prototype Baldrick. Its a play that gives the Germans a relatively good press in a war where both sides suffered horrific losses. So, in truth a historical document (the writer RC Sheriff served in WW1); a theatrical tour de force and a powerful indictment of war and the societies that create it. This edition has useful notes for classroom use (it has been a set text in previous years) and is attractively produced. The writing, in theatrical terms echoes Rattigan, Pinter and Osborne amongst others. One can see why it is regarded as a classic of literature, whilst remaining a challenging and demanding piece to actually stage.

It's a classic WW1 play that has stood the test of time.....I would recommend that readers also buy The First Day of the Somme by Martin Middlebrook, and the Regeneration Trilogy, by Pat Barker.....