The End of Tradition

by John Connell

2023 · Taylor & Francis

First published in 1978, The End of Tradition is the history of four Surrey villages, the Horsleys and Clandons, close to London but isolated and protected from it by the Green Belt. Towards the end of the last century, a period of rapid change began in rural England as a new way of life centred on the nearby towns and cities replaced a traditional rural village life. Estates were broken up, agricultural life declined, village schools and parish councils were set up, and the pervasive influence of the village squire disappeared. But the coming of the railway, and later the motor car, provoked the most fundamental changes, for the isolation of the village was ended. The railway linked the villages of Surrey with London. In exclusive housing estates of detached homes in culs-de-sac, the exceptionally high status of the village was enhanced by the efforts of the newcomers to protect their new style of life through the most comprehensive countryside protection system in Britain. This is a must read for students and scholars interested in British history and sociology.

Shaw and Other Playwrights

by John Anthony Bertolini

1993 · Penn State Press

The early conclusion that Shaw was mainly a magpie following the trails of many thinkers has led to the further consequence of neglecting Shaw's relationship to other playwrights. This volume of SHAW explores Shaw's plays as inheritances and inspirations of dramatic art and also locates Shaw himself as a presence in the work of his contemporaries and successors. The volume concentrates on Shaw in relation to other modern British playwrights, notably Wilde, Bennett, Rattigan, the Court Theatre playwrights, and Shaw's successors from Coward to Stoppard. Gwyn Thomas's 1975 BBC play, The Ghost of Adelphi Terrace, puts Shaw and Barrie together on stage, and Shaw's 20 June 1937 Sunday Graphic obituary tribute to Barrie demonstrates Shaw's high regard for his contemporary and near neighbor. There are also essays on how Shaw came increasingly to resemble Strindberg as a dramatist, on the requirements of acting and directing Shaw alongside his contemporaries at the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, and on Heartbreak House as a complex dialogue with Chekhov, Shakespeare, and Strindberg. John R. Pfeiffer has prepared a special bibliography of sources relating to Shaw and other playwrights in addition to the Continuing Checklist of Shaviana, and Dan H. Laurence has provided Shaw's pronunciation guide for the more troublesome names of his stage characters. There are also reviews of four recent additions to Shavian scholarship. Contributors include John A. Bertolini, Fred D. Crawford, R. F. Dietrich, T. F. Evans, A. M. Gibbs, Leon H. Hugo, Christopher Newton, Sally Peters, John R. Pfeiffer, Evert Sprinchorn, and Stanley Weintraub.