Double Act: A Life of Tom Stoppard

by Nadel Ira (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $3.25

  The first major biography of Britain's most successful playwright In this major study Ira Nadel brilliantly recounts Stoppard's life, from his escape as a child from the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia via Singapore and India to London where he fetched up in swinging '60s London. Stoppard was the youngest playwright ever produced at the National Theatre, and his career went from there in leaps and bounds to success in the West End and international recognition. Exploring past and present friendships with Kenneth Tynan, Peter O'Toole, Trevor Nunn, Miriam Stoppard, Felicity Kendal and Marie Helvin among many others as well as the human rights work of his more recent years, Double Act is a definitive portrait of the man behind the plays. In addition, Nadel's incisive study shows how Stoppard's life imitates his art and vice versa: the multiple identities of the plays reflect his multi-layered past, the apparent contradictions of his life giving rise to dramatic works that elegantly and irresistibly explore the shifting nature of reality.This biography draws on inside sources including Stoppard's own notebooks & letters, some previously unpublished.

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.25

  The story of Stoppard's life is a compelling one and it is laid out with extraordinary detail in this first major biography - Evening Standard Double Act is the first major biography of one of the world's celebrated most writers, From his early theatrical success as the youngest playwright ever produced at the National Theatre, to his Academy Award for Shakespeare in Love, Tom Stoppard's work is renowned for its dazzling wit, invention and box-office appeal. But his real life is a more complicated affair still; and this acclaimed and authoritative book reveals the remarkable private story of a man who from childhood had to invent his own personality, and whose multi-layered dramas reflect the enduring contradictions of his life. An impressive biography ...it makes a good story out of that most unpromising subject, an unqualified and extended triumph. Spectator Appealingly embellished with Stoppard's shrewd witticisms about his work and full of keen perceptions of its own, Double Act offers an exhaustive and enlightening overview of a singular talent that is happiest when expressing itself in dual ways. Sunday Times Nadel is excellent at providing an exposition of Stoppard's ideas and the wider social context in which he lives. Independent on Sunday A searching biography of this mercurial writer ...Nadel builds an engrossing picture of someone in continual self-reinvention. Jewish Chronicle Stoppard's playwriting career, unsurprisingly, constitutes the largest component of the biography, and the production details, gossip and contractual facts make for fascinating reading. Irish Times If the genius of Nadel's subject lies in paradox, it also needs genius to turn that paradox into an event. This book is one, and a palpable hit. Good Book Guide Essential reading for all students of theatre. Hampstead & Highgate

• New

  Paperback
  2004

  $28.72

  The story of Stoppard's life is a compelling one and it is laid out with extraordinary detail in this first major biography - Evening Standard Double Act is the first major biography of one of the world's celebrated most writers, From his early theatrical success as the youngest playwright ever produced at the National Theatre, to his Academy Award for Shakespeare in Love, Tom Stoppard's work is renowned for its dazzling wit, invention and box-office appeal. But his real life is a more complicated affair still; and this acclaimed and authoritative book reveals the remarkable private story of a man who from childhood had to invent his own personality, and whose multi-layered dramas reflect the enduring contradictions of his life. An impressive biography ...it makes a good story out of that most unpromising subject, an unqualified and extended triumph. Spectator Appealingly embellished with Stoppard's shrewd witticisms about his work and full of keen perceptions of its own, Double Act offers an exhaustive and enlightening overview of a singular talent that is happiest when expressing itself in dual ways. Sunday Times Nadel is excellent at providing an exposition of Stoppard's ideas and the wider social context in which he lives. Independent on Sunday A searching biography of this mercurial writer ...Nadel builds an engrossing picture of someone in continual self-reinvention. Jewish Chronicle Stoppard's playwriting career, unsurprisingly, constitutes the largest component of the biography, and the production details, gossip and contractual facts make for fascinating reading. Irish Times If the genius of Nadel's subject lies in paradox, it also needs genius to turn that paradox into an event. This book is one, and a palpable hit. Good Book Guide Essential reading for all students of theatre. Hampstead & Highgate