Harold Pinter
(, Main)
Publishing Details
Harold Pinter
By (Author) Michael Billington
Faber & Faber
Faber & Faber
3rd November 1997
Main
United Kingdom
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
Biography: arts and entertainment
Literary studies: plays and playwrights
Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000
822.914
Physical Properties
432
Width 137mm, Height 216mm, Spine 30mm
485g
Description
'Enthralling. Calmly, judiciously written, it takes Pinter from his Hackney childhood and Jewish upbringing to his current eminence and political activity; it handles his acting, writing and directing; it treats his plays, screenwriting, poetry and fiction; and it discusses many of his friendships and both of his marriages.Billington's book is an open-sesame into Pinter's work.To the extent that Billington provides answers about Pinter's life and art, his is a valuable book. And absorbing: I found it virtually unputdownable.' Financial Times
Reviews
"A smart, absorbing blend of criticism and biography that demythologizes the writings of Britain's premier postwar dramatist . . . Billington combines intelligence with accessibility to create a fine theater book for the general reader.""--Kirkus Reviews"
"The book's most fascinating sections explore the sources, literary and biographical, of Pinter's evocative, cryptic plays.""--Booklist"
"Enthralling. Calmly, judiciously written, it takes Pinter from his Hackney childhood and Jewish upbringing to his current eminence and political activity; it handles his acting, writing and directing; it treats his plays, screenwriting, poetry and fiction; and discusses many of his friendships and both of his marriages . . . Billington's book is an open-sesame into Pintor's work . . . To the extent that Billington provides answers about Pinter's life and art, his is a valuable book. And absorbing: I found it virtually unputdownable.""--Financial Times"
"Through his work as a playwright and director, Pinter has raised out theatre to the highest point that it has achieved since Edwardian times . . . No reader of this book will doubt, by the end of it, that its subject is a man of the highest artistic stature.""--Sunday Telegraph"
"An outstandingly good book.""--Independent "
Author Bio
Michael Billington has been the Guardian theatre critic since 1971. He is a regular broadcaster on radio and television arts programmes in the UK. His previous books include biographies on Peggy Ashcroft, Ken Dodd, ALan Ayckbourn and Tom Stoppard.
