Anderson, Michael. Anger and Detachment: A Study of Arden, Osborne, and Pinter. London: Pitman, 1976. Places Arden in a wider literary context, comparing him with John Osborne and Harold Pinter.
Gray, Frances. John Arden. New York: Grove Press, 1983. The introduction points out the inherently noncommercial “manner” and “matter” of Arden’s structure, subject matter, and cast of characters, and it uses the theme as an organizational device for discussing Arden’s work. Brief bibliography and index.
Hunt, Albert. Arden: A Study of His Plays. London: Eyre Methuen, 1974. A good source.
Malick, Javed. Toward a Theater of the Oppressed: The Dramaturgy of John Arden. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995. This study examines the plays of Arden, looking at the theory behind them and the way they were performed. Closely examines Island of the Mighty. Bibliography and index.
Page, Malcolm. John Arden. Boston: Twayne, 1984. A concise biography of Arden that examines both his life and his work. Bibliography and index.
Page, Malcolm, comp. Arden on File. London: Methuen, 1985. A compilation of facts on Arden’s productions (twenty-one plays described and annotated), themes, growth as a writer, and self-evaluation through the course of his career. Easy to use, full of names and dates, and the pith of reviews. Contains a chronology and a select bibliography.
Shaughnessy, Robert. Three Socialist Plays: “Lear,” “Roots,” “Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance.” Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1992. Shaughnessy looks at the political thought expressed in Arden’s Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, Arnold Wesker’s Roots (pr., pb. 1959), and Edward Bond’s Lear (pr. 1971). Bibliography and index.
Wike, Jonathan, ed. John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy: A Casebook. New York: Garland, 1995. This casebook looks at the works of Arden and his wife, D’Arcy. Bibliography and index.