Becket [Paperback]

Jean Anouilh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

Portrays the conflict of loyalties between church and state as they influenced the lives of two powerful men in English history.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

Jean Anouilh (June 23, 1910 – October 3, 1987) was a French dramatist.

He was born in Bordeaux and had Basque ancestry. He started his career as a jobbing writer in the film industry. In 1931, his first play, L'Hermine, flopped, but he followed it up with a string of others. Anouilh was an extremely private man, and very little is known about his private life except for what can be deduced from reading his plays. It is known that he married Monelle Valentin, an actress. He has a very long career, and is not associated with one specific school of dramatic thought. His plays are vastly different from each other. Some are classic farces with dark twists, some adaptations of Greek myths, and some explorations of life and love. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade; 1st Riverhead ed edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573225088
• ISBN-13: 978-1573225083
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Play to Read, Fantastic Film to Watch, August 28, 2003

By 

Grant Waara (Lusk, Wyoming, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Becket (Paperback)

This is one of my favorite plays. While Anouilh made Becket a Saxon (historians say he was in fact, a Norman), and that a decade's time is compressed to make a two plus hour play or movie, the fact is that "Becket" is a fast moving, epic saga which dramatizes one of the most heartbreaking episodes in English history.

Ignore the negative reviews here. I highly suggest you go see the play if you're lucky enough, or rent the movie with two superb performances from Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.

One last note. While plays tend to suffer when just being read and not performed, "Becket" is a glad exception. It's superbly written and it goes by briskly.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From A person who Portrayed Henry II in the play, May 21, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Chip G) (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becket (Paperback)

Becket is a marvelous dramatical production. Often, it's deep and complicated nature does not entertain average audiences. However, the play deals with the drastic conversion, already brewing within Thomas, spurred by a childish king. Henry is truly the most remarkable character in the play to portray. His childishness and regality class in a torent of anguish with his best friend, and worst enemy, Thomas Becket! This play is a must read for everyone!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars from a Becket fan...., November 28, 2004

By 

butterflyeffect67 ":: Aelis ::" (Ibiza, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becket (Paperback)

I love this play! It's one of my favourites and a wonderful complement to Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral". The movie with Richard Burton as Becket is also outstanding. I always carry it along with me when I go in a journey along with Eliot's "Four Quartets". It shows the humane side of Becket, it is a great study on the human soul. I cannot reccomend it too much. This is the stuff heroes are made of....