LEADER 04029nam 2200685Ia 450 001 9910464266103321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-282-77209-0 010 $a9786612772092 010 $a0-520-93989-1 024 7 $a10.1525/9780520939899 035 $a(CKB)3390000000006980 035 $a(EBL)837307 035 $a(OCoLC)773565070 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000438411 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11321745 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000438411 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10452887 035 $a(PQKB)10369147 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC837307 035 $a(DE-B1597)519603 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780520939899 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL837307 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10675840 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL277209 035 $a(EXLCZ)993390000000006980 100 $a20030414d2003 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aIs he dead?$b[electronic resource] $ea comedy in three acts /$fMark Twain ; edited with foreword, afterword, and notes by Shelley Fisher Fishkin ; text established by the Mark Twain Project, the Bancroft Library ; illustrations by Barry Moser 210 $aBerkeley $cUniversity of California Press$dc2003 215 $a1 online resource (249 p.) 225 1 $aJumping frogs 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-520-23979-2 311 $a0-520-24833-3 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tIllustrations --$tForeword --$tIs He Dead? by Mark Twain --$tAfterword --$tNotes --$tAcknowledgments 330 $aThe University of California Press is delighted to announce the new publication of this three-act play by one of America's most important and well-loved writers. A highly entertaining comedy that has never appeared in print or on stage, Is He Dead? is finally available to the wide audience Mark Twain wished it to reach. Written in 1898 in Vienna as Twain emerged from one of the deepest depressions of his life, the play shows its author's superb gift for humor operating at its most energetic. The text of Is He Dead?, based on the manuscript in the Mark Twain Papers, appears here together with an illuminating essay by renowned Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin and with Barry Moser's original woodcut illustrations in a volume that will surely become a treasured addition to the Mark Twain legacy. Richly intermingling elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire with a wry look at the world market in art, Is He Dead? centers on a group of poor artists in Barbizon, France, who stage the death of a friend to drive up the price of his paintings. In order to make this scheme succeed, the artists hatch some hilarious plots involving cross-dressing, a full-scale fake funeral, lovers' deceptions, and much more. Mark Twain was fascinated by the theater and made many attempts at playwriting, but this play is certainly his best. Is He Dead? may have been too "out there" for the Victorian 1890's, but today's readers will thoroughly enjoy Mark Twain's well-crafted dialogue, intriguing cast of characters, and above all, his characteristic ebullience and humor. In Shelley Fisher Fishkin's estimation, it is "a champagne cocktail of a play--not too dry, not too sweet, with just the right amount of bubbles and buzz." 410 0$aJumping Frogs: Undiscovered, Rediscovered, and Celebrated Writings of Mark Twain 606 $aArtists$vDrama 606 $aDeath$vDrama 607 $aBarbizon (France)$vDrama 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aArtists 615 0$aDeath 676 $a812/.4 700 $aTwain$b Mark$f1835-1910.$027404 701 $aFishkin$b Shelley Fisher$0547913 712 02$aBancroft Library.$bMark Twain Project. 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910464266103321 996 $aIs he dead$92470162 997 $aUNINA