Arthur Miller: A Critical Study

Christopher Bigsby explores the entirety of Arthur Miller’s work, including plays, poetry, fiction and films, in this comprehensive and stimulating study. Drawing on interviews conducted over the last twenty years, on unique rehearsal material and research archives, he paints a compelling picture of how Miller’s works were influenced by and created in the light of events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This is an enjoyable insight into a great playwright that will interest both theatregoers and students of modern drama.

• An intimate and accessible view of the playwright and his world, using much previously unpublished material • Includes an interview with Arthur Miller by Bigsby, his close friend • Fascinating insights for theatregoers as well as students and scholars of modern American drama by one of the leading specialists in the field

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The Michigan plays; 2. The Golden Years, The Half-Bridge, Boro Hall Nocturne; 3. The radio plays; 4. The Man Who Had All the Luck; 5. Focus; 6. All My Sons; 7. Death of a Salesman; 8. Arthur Miller: time-traveller; 9. An Enemy of the People; 10. The Crucible; 11. A Memory of Two Mondays; 12. A View from the Bridge; 13. Tragedy; 14. The Misfits; 15. After the Fall; 16. Incident at Vichy; 17. The Price; 18. The Creation of the World and Other Business; 19. The Archbishop’s Ceiling; 20. Playing for Time; 21. The shearing point; 22. The American Clock; 23. The one-act plays: Two-Way Mirror and Danger: Memory!; 24. The Ride Down Mount Morgan; 25. The Last Yankee; 26. Broken Glass; 27. Mr Peters\' Connections; 28. Resurrection Blues; 29. Finishing the Picture; 30. Fiction; 31. Arthur Miller as a Jewish writer; Notes; Index.

‘Bigsby\'s epic study is readable, comprehensive and profound. It\'s not a beginner\'s guide, and plot summaries rapidly give way to in-depth discussion, with brief biographical links rounding off each chapter. Given the massive task, the evidence of haste in some of the writing is excusable. This book is clearly a must not only for Miller fans, but for anyone wanting to know about the post-war struggles of the engaged artist - committed both to accounting for his life, and bearing witness to history.’ The Independent

‘… wide-ranging, indispensable study … an in-depth account of everything Miller has written, including the voluminous variants of his work, his private papers and worknotes to which Bigsby has had access …’. Jewish Chronicle

’A text of extraordinary thoroughness and insight. (it) is likely to remain the most sustained and penetrating examination of Miller\'s work for a long time to come.’ Theatre History Studies

’… comprehensive and very thorough.’ Contemporary Review