Drama & performing (children’s/ya)

Fiction Drama Books for Young Adults

• Dombey and Son is a novel by the Victorian creator Charles Dickens. The story concerns Paul Dombey, the rich proprietor of the delivery organization of the book's title, whose fantasy is to have a child to proceed with his business. The book starts when his child is conceived, and Dombey's better half passes on not long after conceiving an offspring.

• H. Rider Haggard's book The Ivory Child featuring Allan Quatermain. Two foreigners inquire for Allan Quatermain by his name among the Africans, Macumazana, while he is being sought by two foreigners when Quatermain is visiting Lord Randall. The two guests are Harut and Marut, priests and physicians from the White Kendah People, and they are here to request assistance from Allan Quatermain. The Black Kendah people, worship an evil spirit, and the White Kendah people are at war. The biggest elephant they have ever seen is home to the god's spirit, and no man has ever been able to slay it, except for Allan Quatermain. Now, to stop the evil spirit from annihilating the entire White Kendah People, our brave hero must travel back to Africa.

• The Pawns Count - During World War 1, English officer John Lutchester was injured. He is employed by the Secret Service as an "inspector of explosives". He is meeting a scientist in a club/restaurant in London when the scientist is kidnapped and the recipe for a potent new explosive is taken. Pamela Van Teyl, a wealthy American girl who does enigmatic tasks for her country, frequents the same eatery. Baron Sunyea, the Japanese envoy, and Mr. Fischer, a German American millionaire, are also in attendance. In addition to seeking secrets, the soldiers also seek love. In this book, the action takes place in the spring of 1916. Germany is doing everything it can to maintain US neutrality and prevent them from joining the conflict. Japan is viewed as a future force that may oppose or aid Germany's aspirations for world dominance. In the story, German American merchants scheme to keep America neutral or undermine its capacity to aid the English and the French. American lawmakers are bought off, and industries are set on fire. The narrative makes extensive use of the Battle of Jutland, which occurred at the end of May 1916. While the war was still raging in Europe, the book was released in March 1918.

• In his four-act play An Ideal Husband, Oscar Wilde explores the concepts of public and private honor while revolving around political corruption and blackmail. It was first presented in 1895 and lasted for 124 performances at the Haymarket Theatre in London. It has seen numerous theatrical revivals and film, radio, and television adaptations. Oscar Wilde started writing An Ideal Husband for the actor-manager John Hare in June 1893, as his second drawing room play, A Woman of No Importance, was enjoying popularity at the Haymarket Theatre. He finished the play's first act while residing in a home he had rented in Goring-on-Thames, and he gave the play's main character that name. He wrote the final three acts between September 1893 and January 1894. Hare rejected the play because he thought the final act was inadequate. Wilde then offered the piece to Lewis Waller, who was going to temporarily take over management of the Haymarket Theater while Herbert Beerbohm Tree was away in America. Waller accepted. The play, which was touted as "A new and original play of modern life," began rehearsing in December 1894 and premiered on January 3, 1895.

• Alice Sit by the Fire - The star-studded production of the timeless classic, which Charles Frohman staged on Christmas Day 1905 at the Criterion Theatre in New York, has always been a spectacular showcase for the acting prowess of the greatest female actors, from Ethel Barrymore to Helen Hayes. The main character, Alice, returns from India to England with her husband and struggles to acclimatize to the house and kids she left behind. Amy, her intelligent and creative daughter, misinterprets her mother's flirtatious comments to a close family friend and thinks she is planning a meeting with him. Amy resolves to offer herself as a sacrifice in a great gesture and first meets "the lover." Alice is shocked to discover her daughter's glove at the friend's apartment, and now both mother and daughter are in danger while the poor friend is hopelessly lost. Alice's husband is also. But they manage to resolve the incorrect relationship without hurting Amy's delicate imagination. The main themes of the novel—children believing they are smarter than their elders and adults having to learn how to use their life experience to be effective parents—remain relevant today, despite the fact that the story is very much a period piece.

• The Sorrows of a Show Girl - Some of Sabrina's comments in the book are likely to make the reader raise his eyebrows in skepticism about her true nature. She wants to declare that she is everything that she should be in order to make things right with the general public as well as the large army of Sabrina’s who give youth and beauty to our stage as well as brilliancy and gaiety to their well-known cafés. She is a young lady who does not seem her age, despite the fact that she is. She always has superb taste and always dresses nicely, albeit a little ahead of the trends. She behaves admirably among strangers or in public, but when around people from her own group, she feels more comfortable and may occasionally use slang. She could be forced by fate to support herself, or she might get money from somewhere unrelated to these stories. Sabrina views everybody outside the theatrical or journalism world as an outsider, and she treats them as such. The cafés and restaurants of the "wiseacres" known as the "Tenderloin" are where you can find hundreds of people much like her any evening after the theatre.

• Maurice Maeterlinck, a Belgian dramatist, and poet wrote "The Blue Bird."  In order to discover the elusive bluebird of happiness, two kids named Tyltyl and Mytyl are set on a magical journey. A distinct stage of their trip is represented by each of the play's six acts. The fairy Bérylune pays the kids a visit in Act I and assigns them the task of locating the bluebird of happiness. They go on their trip with their dog in Act II, stopping in the Land of Memory along the way to get a glimpse of their history. They visit the Land of the Future in Act III, where they may glimpse what their futures could hold. They meet their departed grandparents as they go to the Realm of the Dead in Act IV. They are led to the Palace of Night in Act V, where they encounter the blue bird's soul. The children come home with the bluebird in Act VI's concluding scene, which they find out has been with them the whole time. The symbolist drama examines issues of human nature, happiness, and the unanswered questions of life and death.

• "The Duchess of Malfi" is a play written by John Webster in the early 17th century, and it tells the tragic story of a powerful Duchess who falls in love and secretly marries Antonio. The Duchess's two brothers, Ferdinand, and the Cardinal are opposed to her marriage and plot to destroy her happiness. As the play progresses, the Duchess and Antonio are caught and tortured by Ferdinand and the Cardinal's henchmen. The Duchess's children are also murdered, and in the end, the Duchess herself is strangled to death. What will Antonio do without his love? The Duchess's love for Antonio is in direct opposition to the expectations of her brothers and society. This conflict ultimately leads to her downfall. Ferdinand and the Cardinal are portrayed as corrupt and ruthless individuals who abuse their power for personal gain. The Duchess, on the other hand, is shown as a benevolent ruler who genuinely cares for her loved ones! To know the end, completely, readers should read this powerful depiction of the consequences of ambition, greed, and betrayal.

• "The Fugitive" is a four-act play by John Galsworthy, first performed in 1913. The play revolves around the romantic relationship between a married woman, and a successful but aging barrister who is aware of his wife's infidelity but chooses to ignore it. As the play progresses, the character's motivations and desires are revealed, leading to a tragic conclusion. His passion for her is not reciprocated, and he eventually leaves her. She cannot bear the shame of her actions, taking her own life. He is left to deal with the aftermath of his wife's death and confront his own role in her unhappiness. The play explores themes of love, desire, morality, and the consequences of one's actions. It also highlights the societal expectations placed on women and the limitations they face in pursuing their own happiness. Overall, "The Fugitive" is a poignant and thought-provoking examination of the human condition.

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