The Broken Heart

'Tis Pity's she a Whore so far as been my favorite John Ford play, but this was good. This play was written in the late 1600's.  Because of her brother Ithocles' unwise decisions Penthea has to marry the overbearing jealous Bassanes instead of Orgilus. Her brother soon realizes the error of his ways, but Orgilus sets out to get his revenge. The title of the play refers to the fate of Calantha, Ithocles love.  This covers topic like murder and suicide but 'Tis Pity was juicer. 

The Critic

 

This was just ok. Frankly I thought it was easily the worst Richard Brinsley Sheridan play I've read. It's about a critic Mr. Dangle and him seeing an atrocious play by a man named Mr. Puff. The play Mr. Puff wrote is supposed to be a satire of the plays of the time. I have to admit I probably would have appreciated this play more if I was more familiar with the plays of the late 1700's which is my own fault. Still, Sheridan's The school for scandal is an excellent play and The Rivals was good too. The man had talent. 

Boston Adventure

 

I love Jean Stafford, and this was her first book. It's promising but she did way better later with her masterpiece The Mountain Lion and her short stories. I loved those works so much that I read a biography of the author. This is probably loosely based on her life, a book where she talks of a childhood with a father who deserts them and a mother who eventually becomes mentally ill. Jean becomes a secretary for a rich woman writing her memoirs later on. The problem for me laid with the length. It was over 400 pages. I loved the first hundred, but it started to run out of steam.