Luther [Paperback]

John Osborne (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is John Osborne's first historical play and it received excellent reviews in England on its appearance there. It is scheduled for New York production with a film to follow. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Signet (October 1, 1963)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451144740
• ISBN-13: 978-0451144744
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,527,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creating the Protestants, January 23, 2000

By 

Jonathan R. Reynolds (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luther (Drama, Plume) (Paperback)

Osborne, the popular enfant terrible of British drama in the 1950's and 60's (then ignored once his politics became unfashionable in artistic circles) won several awards for this play, an interesting but hardly comprehensive portrait of Martin Luther's career. The title role (originally played by Albret Finney)is challenging for an actor, and intriguing for the reader. The second act--in which Luther fights the Catholic Church--is strong and well-written; the first is also dramatic in its attempt to explain why Luther did what he did; the third, however, by viewing Luther at the end of his life, disappoints because we are only TOLD about his accomplishments rather than sharing them.

The scope of the play is too large--it tries to cover too much time rather than concentrating on one (or a few) specific events. But it is a curious and fascinating play; few are written about religion any more, and for that alone it is engrossing.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun afternoon read, September 1, 2002

By 

G. Krehbiel (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Luther (Drama, Plume) (Paperback)

He strikes an interesting balance between the various Luther mythologies: the "Oak of Saxony" of ideolized Protestantism, the "Devil's Spawn" of reactionary Catholicism, and the mentally disturbed creature of speculative psychology.

It doesn't break any new ground or make any brilliant points, but it's a fun read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not only read it, but performed it., December 28, 2000

By 

Nick (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luther (Drama, Plume) (Paperback)

Not only have I read Luther, but I have performed in the play. I played the Role of John Tetzel, the Dominican monk who sells indulgences. I found the play rather boring. Tetzel's scene in Act 2 scene 1 is one of the few entertaining bits of the play though a 4 page monolouge is a lot to memorize.