Shadowplay Synopsis
Shadowplay by New York Times best-selling author, Joseph O'Connor, is set during the golden age of West End theatre in a London shaken by the crimes of Jack the Ripper. Henry Irving is Victorian London's most celebrated actor and theater impresario. He has introduced groundbreaking ideas to the theater, bringing to the stage performances that are spectacular, shocking, and always entertaining.
When Irving decides to open his own London theater with the goal of making it the greatest playhouse on earth, he hires a young Dublin clerk harboring literary ambitions by the name of Bram Stoker to manage it. As Irving's theater grows in reputation and financial solvency, he lures to his company of mummers the century's most beloved actress, the dazzlingly talented leading lady Ellen Terry, who nightly casts a spell not only on her audiences but also on Stoker and Irving both.
Bram Stoker's extraordinary experiences at the Lyceum Theatre, his early morning walks on the streets of a London terrorized by a serial killer, his long, tempestuous relationship with Irving, and the closeness he finds with Ellen Terry, inspire him to write DRACULA, the most iconic and best-selling supernatural tale ever published. A magnificent portrait both of lamp-lit London and of lives and loves enacted on the stage, Shadowplay's rich prose, incomparable storytelling, and vivid characters will linger in readers' hearts and minds for many years.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781609456986 |
| Publication date: |
12th October 2021 |
| Author: |
Joseph O'Connor |
| Publisher: |
Europa Editions an imprint of Europa Editions (UK) Ltd. |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
400 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Historical Fiction
|
Joseph O'Connor Press Reviews
Dazzling...the panache and subtlety of his prose perfectly match that gusto and creative finesse of the High Victorian world his novel wonderfully evokes - Sunday Times
An ingenious novel... O'Connor's work is hugely impressive and utterly haunting - Sunday Mirror
Joseph O'Connor is a very great artist and storyteller. The quotient of enjoyment in his extraordinary new novel is stupendous A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love, it is also, movingly - at times, astonishingly - a story of transience, loss and true loyalty - Guardian
A work of Gothic splendour...O'Connor's writing is always intensely atmospheric. As a romp through Ripper-ravaged London, Shadowplay is mightily entertaining. But as a meditation on hidden sexuality, it is powerful and poignant - Literary Review
A fabulous novel that tells the otherwise largely unknown story of the man behind Gothic horror's most enduring character... The narrative stretches decades, and throbs with theatrical vigour. This is writing at its most immersive, full of Dickensian pulchritude and pathos. It should, and might well, win prizes - i
A rollicking tale... an affecting depiction of artistic and social emancipation... O'Connor's well-researched theatrical caper offers total immersion in a romantic, lost London... be nourished by a colourful tale of secret love and public performance - The Times
There are few living writers who can take us back in time so assuredly, with such sensual density, through such gorgeous sentences. Joseph O'Connor is a wonder, and Shadowplay is a triumph. -- Peter Carey, twice winner of the Booker Prize Gorgeously dark... Shadowplay is an accomplished, compelling read - Herald
A hugely entertaining and atmospheric novel, one can almost smell the greasepaint -- Deborah Moggach A mesmerising read, meticulously researched, with beautiful prose...O'Connor has the gift of conjuring up any location....Wonderful suspense a la Wilkie Collins - Sunday Independent
Wonderful. The writing is beautiful. -- Derek Jacobi One of Ireland's finest writers -- John Boyne - Washington Post
Three famous Victorians carry this sparkling historical novel: Sir Henry Irving, the great actor-manager; Ellen Terry, his leading lady; and Bram Stoker, the young Irishman who worked for Irving as a theatre manager before writing Dracula. From their entangled lives Joseph O'Connor weaves a story of love and loyalty, rich in wit and imagination. - Daily Mail
One of the best writers working today -- Alice Walker -
About Joseph O'Connor
Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin. His novels include: Cowboys and Indians (Whitbread Prize shortlist), Star of the Sea, Redemption Falls and Ghost Light. Star of the Sea became an international bestseller, winning the Irish Post Award for Fiction, an American Library Association Award, France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, and the Prix Madeleine Zepter for European Novel of the Year. His work has been published in thirty-five languages.
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