{"title":"Books by J. M. Synge","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780140184327","title":"The Aran Islands","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe foremost account of Ireland's cultural and spiritual heritage\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1907 J. M. Synge achieved both notoriety and lasting fame with \u003ci\u003eThe Playboy of the Western World\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eThe Aran Islands\u003c\/i\u003e, published in the same year, records his visits to the islands in 1898-1901, when he was gathering the folklore and anecdotes out of which he forged The Playboy and his other major dramas.   Yet this book is much more than a stage in the evolution of Synge the dramatist. As Tim Robinson explains in his introduction, \"If Ireland is intriguing as being an island off the west of Europe, then Aran, as an island off the west of Ireland, is still more so; it is Ireland raised to the power of two.\" Towards the end of the last century Irish nationalists came to identify the area as the country's uncorrupted heart, the repository of its ancient language, culture and spiritual values. It was for these reasons that Yeats suggested Synge visit the islands to record their way of life. The result is a passionate exploration of a triangle of contradictory relationships – between an island community still embedded in its ancestral ways but solicited by modernism, a physical environment of ascetic loveliness and savagely unpredictable moods, and Synge himself, formed by modern European thought but in love with the primitive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224036946293,"sku":"9780140184327","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780140184327_5405ce64-1ce5-4fd2-bc7e-4378c7fe7b59.jpg?v=1786032618"},{"product_id":"9780199538058","title":"The Playboy of the Western World and Other Plays","description":"J M Synge was one of the key dramatists in the flourishing world of Irish literature at the turn of the century. This volume offers all of Synge's plays, which range from racy comedy to stark tragedy, all sharing a memorable lyricism.  The introduction sets Synge's work in the context of the Irish literary movement, with special attention to his role as one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre and his work alongside W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory.  Includes: Riders to the Sea; The Shadow of the Glen; The Tinker's Wedding; The Well of the Saints; The Play of the Western World; Deirdre of the Sorrows ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56227127984501,"sku":"9780199538058","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780199538058_78f3bcd6-1ed4-4b7a-bfa6-ec47f9d8eab2.jpg?v=1786012729"},{"product_id":"9789358719826","title":"The Playboy Of The Western World: A Comedy In Three Acts","description":"J. M. Synge is the author of the play \"The Playboy of the Western World: A Comedy in Three Acts\". The drama, which is set in rural Ireland, centers on Christy Mahon, a young man who claims to have murdered his father and shows up in a tiny community. He becomes a local celebrity as a result of his patricide story garnering the affection and attention of the community. Pegeen Mike, the daughter of the neighborhood publican, expresses romantic interest in Christy as he becomes more well-liked and the \"playboy\" of the community. As other males in the hamlet compete for Pegeen's attention, a love triangle develops. The play \"The Playboy of the Western World\" investigates the essence of heroism as well as issues of identity and self-presentation. The gap between fact and perception is explored since Christy's reputation is based on a made-up narrative. The social dynamics and cultural practices of rural Irish villages are also discussed in the play. The lyrical language, vivid characterizations, and sardonic wit in Synge's play are well-known. It tackles the complexity of human nature and social expectations while capturing the authenticity of rural Irish life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56313340068213,"sku":"9789358719826","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9789358719826_ac1358c7-5627-4888-b4be-7a1f48dea0d6.jpg?v=1786032266"},{"product_id":"the-playboy-of-the-western-world-and-two-other-irish-plays","title":"The Playboy of the Western World and Two Other Irish Plays","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe plays that helped make modern Ireland\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eRiots greeted the first performance of \u003cb\u003eThe Playboy of the Western World\u003c\/b\u003e at Dublin's Abbey Theatre on 26 January 1907. Eggs, potatoes and even a slice of fruit cake were hurled at the actors during subsequent performances, and it seems unlikely that much of the actual play could have been heard in the uproar. Synge's \u003cb\u003eThe Playboy of the Western World\u003c\/b\u003e, with the two other plays in this volume, Yeats's \u003cb\u003eThe Countess Cathleen\u003c\/b\u003e (1892) and O'Casey's \u003cb\u003eCock-a-doodle Dandy\u003c\/b\u003e (1949), mark vital stages in the rich explosion of Irish drama that first made itself heard at the turn of the century and gathered momentum during the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Civil War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466767376757,"sku":"9780140188783","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780140188783.jpg?v=1785654829"},{"product_id":"travels-in-wicklow-west-kerry-and-connemara","title":"Travels in Wicklow, West Kerry and Connemara","description":null,"brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490178277749,"sku":"9781897959657","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781897959657.jpg?v=1786442063"},{"product_id":"the-playboy-of-the-western-world","title":"The Playboy of the Western World","description":"Drama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little PriceJ.M. Synge's extraordinary play about a young man on the run, and his unexpected elevation to folk hero.   A stranger, Christy Mahon, arrives in a village bar in County Mayo in the West of Ireland, claiming to have killed his father. The locals are impressed – some can even directly relate to the deed – and Christy is lauded as a folk hero. He can't believe his luck, and confidently pursues the affections of the barmaid Pegeen, until the arrival of his not-so-dead father takes the winds out of Christy's sails...   The Playboy of the Western World was first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in January 1907, causing riots across the city.   This edition of the play, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is introduced by Margaret Llewllyn Jones.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490275369333,"sku":"9781854592101","price":4.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781854592101.jpg?v=1786442161"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-j-m-synge.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}