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Journey's End, A Play in Three Acts
- GenresPlays
Paperback
Published January 1, 1929
4 people want to read
About the author
R.C. Sherriff
24 books150 followersRobert Cedric Sherriff was an English writer best known for his play Journey's End which was based on his experiences as a Captain in World War I. He wrote several plays, novels, and screenplays, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and two British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 24, 2023
I got this book because I liked his later book ‘The Fortnight in September’ (published three years after this one in 1931). This was a play, told in 3 acts. I thought it was good.
The play is about soldiers in France during World War One. The setting was a trench. A man who was little more than a teenager (21), Captain Stanhope, was in charge of a group of men...he had been there for 3 years and had experienced the horrors of trench warfare and seen men sent needlessly to their graves. And he drowned his trauma in whiskey. The play also involved a boyfriend chum of his, Raleigh, who was in his platoon. Stanhope was keen on Raleigh’s sister and had plans to marry her when/if he got out. But Stanhope was afraid that Raleigh would see him as a bum, an alcoholic now, and write letters back to his sister informing her of that.
Certainly not the same sort of read as that of ‘The Fortnight in September’....but it was good.
Note: I got an old edition of this book. It was published by Brentano’s Publishers in 1929. I remember going once many, many years ago to Kroch’s and Brentano’s in Chicago. Anyway in this book there was a postcard from someone who was writing to somebody else in Oklahoma City — it was dated 1949 and the sender of the postcard was telling Harriet that he was enjoying himself in Detroit and that the weather was cool but not bad and that he went to a night club and she should take a vacation too. Did I tell too much?
Reviews:
• Interesting story behind the story, how Sherriff’s own experiences in the war informed his writing and what he meant to convey by the play .... https://www.theatrevoice.com/review/j...
• https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/t...
• Review of the play and a recent version of it in 2018: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018...
The play is about soldiers in France during World War One. The setting was a trench. A man who was little more than a teenager (21), Captain Stanhope, was in charge of a group of men...he had been there for 3 years and had experienced the horrors of trench warfare and seen men sent needlessly to their graves. And he drowned his trauma in whiskey. The play also involved a boyfriend chum of his, Raleigh, who was in his platoon. Stanhope was keen on Raleigh’s sister and had plans to marry her when/if he got out. But Stanhope was afraid that Raleigh would see him as a bum, an alcoholic now, and write letters back to his sister informing her of that.
Certainly not the same sort of read as that of ‘The Fortnight in September’....but it was good.
Note: I got an old edition of this book. It was published by Brentano’s Publishers in 1929. I remember going once many, many years ago to Kroch’s and Brentano’s in Chicago. Anyway in this book there was a postcard from someone who was writing to somebody else in Oklahoma City — it was dated 1949 and the sender of the postcard was telling Harriet that he was enjoying himself in Detroit and that the weather was cool but not bad and that he went to a night club and she should take a vacation too. Did I tell too much?
Reviews:
• Interesting story behind the story, how Sherriff’s own experiences in the war informed his writing and what he meant to convey by the play .... https://www.theatrevoice.com/review/j...
• https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/t...
• Review of the play and a recent version of it in 2018: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018...
May 6, 2015
Excellent play, specially the dramatic effect the ever present tension of silence maintains among and around the men. Some break, some die and some dont, but eventually all are changed.
War Literature is interesting this season because of my mentor Dr. Nausheen but this play shall always be a favourite, for its extraordinary handling of unnatural as 'natural' which is how war affects societies , people and history. Playing by its own rules , inverting subverting all formalities. Characters are truly the kind that stay with you , like Hedda. .
War Literature is interesting this season because of my mentor Dr. Nausheen but this play shall always be a favourite, for its extraordinary handling of unnatural as 'natural' which is how war affects societies , people and history. Playing by its own rules , inverting subverting all formalities. Characters are truly the kind that stay with you , like Hedda. .
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews