Eugene O'Neill and His Early Contemporaries

Eugene O'Neill was one of the great American playwrights of the twentieth century. Spanning the years 1910-1930, the 14 essays in this volume address the milieu he knew best--his friends in bohemian Greenwich Village, Provincetown, on waterfronts around the globe, and in the other beloved communities that comprised his early circle. At a time when O'Neill's creative powers were in their infancy, these influences formed the backdrop of his creative development and, consequently, demand more intensive study than they have received to date. This collection also highlights the larger modernist period and its impact on the First World War, the Little Theater Movement, the Abbey Players of Dublin, philosophical anarchism, and other contemporary upheavals that permeate his drama. Interspersed with rare period photos and illustrations, this volume contextualizes O'Neill's plays in the tumult of his historical and cultural moment, offering scholars a fresh approach to his life and art.