Blithe Spirit (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Noel Coward
- First Published: 1941
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Comedy
- Time of Work: Late 1930’s
- Setting: Kent, England
- Principal Characters: Charles Condomine, Ruth, Elvira, Madame Arcati, Edith, Doctor Bradman
- Genres: Drama, Comedy, Comedy of manners, Boulevard drama
- Subjects: Love or romance, Marriage, Ghosts or apparitions, 1930’s, Novelists, England or English people
- Locales: Kent, England
The Story:
The Condomines were awaiting three dinner guests, one of whom was the celebrated medium Madame Arcati, who was to hold a séance after dinner. The purpose of this séance—although Madame Arcati had not been told this—was to allow Charles to gather background material for his new thriller, The Unseen. While waiting, Ruth attempted to teach the new maid, Edith, some discipline and decorum. Conversation turned to the subject of Charles’s former wife, Elvira, who had died of a heart attack brought on by a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Ruth, who had...
[The entire page is 2150 words long]
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