Is He Dead?: A Comedy in Three Acts Volume 1

By Mark Twain

Book Overview

The University of California Press is delighted to announce the new publication of this three-act play by one of America's most important and well-loved writers. A highly entertaining comedy that has never appeared in print or on stage, Is He Dead? is finally available to the wide audience Mark Twain wished it to reach. Written in 1898 in Vienna as Twain emerged from one of the deepest depressions of his life, the play shows its author's superb gift for humor operating at its most energetic. The text of Is He Dead?, based on the manuscript in the Mark Twain Papers, appears here together with an illuminating essay by renowned Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin and with Barry Moser's original woodcut illustrations in a volume that will surely become a treasured addition to the Mark Twain legacy.

Richly intermingling elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire with a wry look at the world market in art, Is He Dead? centers on a group of poor artists in Barbizon, France, who stage the death of a friend to drive up the price of his paintings. In order to make this scheme succeed, the artists hatch some hilarious plots involving cross-dressing, a full-scale fake funeral, lovers' deceptions, and much more.

Mark Twain was fascinated by the theater and made many attempts at playwriting, but this play is certainly his best. Is He Dead? may have been too "out there" for the Victorian 1890s, but today's readers will thoroughly enjoy Mark Twain's well-crafted dialogue, intriguing cast of characters, and above all, his characteristic ebullience and humor. In Shelley Fisher Fishkin's estimation, it is "a champagne cocktail of a play--not too dry, not too sweet, with just the right amount of bubbles and buzz."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520248333
• ISBN13: 9780520248335
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Close but no cigar...see the play

I purchased this after seeing the play "Is He Dead?" done live in stage at The Beck Center in Lakewood. Well, I usually enjoy the book more than the movie/play and expected the same here. Wrong. While enjoyable for Twain-ites (myself), the play onstage is much more entertaining and funny as it is substantially edited content-wise and shorter. So, if you are a Twain collector- buy this, read it and treasure another piece of Twainia. If you are a casual fan...see the play. It's a night well spent.

Is He Dead?

Condition of the book was just as stated, cost was reasonable and delivery was timely. I would do business again with this vendor.

TWAIN on stage

I'll be stage managing IS HE DEAD in November, and I needed to read the script now. Although it is slightly different from the Acting Editon used on Broadway, I got the essence of what the story is about, and the number of characters on stage. Thanks! TERI

absolutely hysterical

this is one of the greatest plays i have ever read/seen. i laughed so hard during act II that i almost could not continue. mark twain really hit something brilliant here and it is a shame it is not more well known. i am also a fan of humerous plays such as "the importance of being ernest" so if you like satire such as that, you will absolutely love this. also i greatly recommend seeing this at a playhouse if at all possible, it is spectactular on the stage!

Delightful bit of Fun from Mark Twain!

I must preface my review with the truth that I am totally and hopelessly Twain obsessed. I won't say that only a Twain lover will "get" this play but it certainly wouldn't hurt! I enjoyed it immensely and laughed out loud many times. Theatre was one of Twain's passions and he struggled all his life to write a successful play with variable results. This effort is delightful! I found the interactions between the two couples sweet and touching and the comeraderie between the group of artists was good natured and engaging. But the best part was the gender reversal which was the funniest part of the play. It is amazing that Twain wrote this upbeat and optimistic piece as he was clawing his way out of a deep depression after his daughters death. The introduction and afterward are fascinating, both produced by the excellent and much appreciated Bancroft Library Mark Twain Project. I can't wait to see what they publish next!!