Рональд Фирбенк - все книги по циклам и сериям | Книги по порядку

Complementing Dalkey Archive's edition of Firbank's Complete Short Stories (published in 1990), Complete Plays makes available for the first time in one volume this inimitable British writer's three excursions into drama: The Mauve Tower (1904), a "dream play" reminiscent in language and setting of Oscar Wilde's Salome and the writings of the French symbolists; A Disciple from the Country (1907), a one-act comedy about a debutante who flirts with religion and sainthood in order to catch a husband; and The Princess Zoubaroff (1920), a three-act comedy about marriage, religion, and homosexual separatism. The latter, which has been produced in England occasionally since the 1950s, is considered to be among Firbank's major works, and yet it, like the other two plays, has not been generally available in this country until now. The plays are filled with the wit and satire for which Firbank's novels are relished; indeed, Firbank's novels relied so heavily on dialogue that the distinction between them and his plays is minimal. Consequently, those who enjoy his novels and stories - as well as those who enjoy the comic British theater tradition of Pinero, Wilde, and Coward - should welcome this collection. Steven Moore, who edited the Complete Short Stories, has written an introduction placing the plays in the context of Firbank's life.

This novel is set in the West Indies during the time of British Rule and slavery. A young negro woman called Miami Mouth is sitting in the shade and thinking about the plans of her mother to move to the big city. Miami cannot imagine what the advantage would be to her family.

Set in an English seaside health resort where the air promotes longevity, "Valmouth" is dominated by masseuse, Mrs Yajnavalkya. It is a work of elegant fantasy with religious and sexual innuendo. Also included are "Sorrow in Sunlight" and "Concerning the Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli".

At the fantastical court of King Willie and Her Dreaminess the Queen of Pisuerga, maid of honour Laura de Nazianzi and His Weariness Prince Yousef whisper promises to each other in the palace gardens. But Laura is destined for disappointment. The King and Queen have plans for a royal wedding for their Prince, and the young woman in their sights is none other than Princess Elsie of England. The court is all aflutter . . .

First published in 1923, Ronald Firbank's The Flower Beneath the Foot is a flamboyant court satire and lyrical tour de force of innuendo and eccentricity. Read by many as a subversive celebration of homosexuality, this is a classic of modernist literature from a stylist like no other.

«Человек, которому не нравится Рональд Фирбенк, может обладать редкостными достоинствами, но общаться с ним я не желаю». Уистен Хью Оден Эдмунд Уилсон назвал Рональды Фирбенка (1886—1926) одним из лучших английских писателей. Прозу Фирбенка обожали Олдос Хаксли и Ивлин Во. В антологиях британского юмора его афоризмы соседствуют с остротами Оскара Уайльда. Рональд Фирбенк проводил свои дни в изысканной неге. Романы он сочинял на почтовых открытках в украшенных цветами номерах отелей. Его передвижения по миру были непредсказуемыми. «Завтра отправляюсь на Гаити. Говорят, президент там Настоящий Душка!» — сообщала телеграмма, которую…