Heartbreak House (Masterplots II: Drama)
At a glance:
- Author: George Bernard Shaw
- First Published: 1919
- Type of Work: Play of ideas
- Time of Work: 1901-1914
- Setting: England
- Principal Characters: Ellie Dunn, Captain Shotover, Lady Ariadne Utterword, Hesione Hushabye, Boss Mangan, Hector Hushabye, Randall Utterword
- Genres: Drama, Problem play
- Subjects: Values, Love or romance, Europe or Europeans, Class consciousness, 1910’s, England or English people, War, Duty, World War I, Business or business people, Capitalism, Wealth, Old age or elderly people
- Locales: Sussex, England
The Play
Ellie Dunn, desolate and forgotten, sits alone in a room that resembles part of an old-fashioned ship. Her plight is explained when Nurse Guinness, a servant, and Captain Shotover enter. Ellie was invited by Hesione Hushabye, who then forgot the invitation. Nurse Guinness explains this as normal for the bohemian Heartbreak House. As they talk, Ariadne arrives, returning home for her first visit in more than two decades; appalled by Heartbreak House’s disorder, she has married a conventional colonial administrator and cultivated propriety.
Hesione enters and...
[The entire page is 2745 words long]
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- Heartbreak House (Masterplots II: Drama)
See Also:
George Bernard Shaw (Censorship--Ready Reference series)George Bernard Shaw (Cyclopedia of World Authors)George Bernard Shaw (Dictionary of World Biography)George Bernard Shaw (Drama)
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