Böcker av H D Greaves

Add a conniving servant and his amoral master; a murderous priest and his equally homicidal sidekick; a beautiful but barren wife wed to an ancient attorney; and a potion brewed from Mandragora, a root that allegedly helps women conceive, and we have a prescription for pandemonium, especially when Mandragora (known in less reputable circles as "God's Little Joke"), possesses a Fatal Flaw.Filled with bawdy and irreverent wit, outrageous situations, and characters it would be grossly unwise to invite to dinner, this literate and sophisticated satirical comedy, written by the infamous Niccolò Machiavelli in 1520, and re-imagined by H.D. Greaves for contemporary audiences, is a delightful theatrical experience. It's also quite a lot of fun to read and re-read with friends.

In this unusual collection, H.D. Greaves displays a variety of unique narratives with stories - many fact-based - that span the past and the present in locales real and imaginary, while embracing humour and irony, intrigue and suspense, love and compassion.Characters range from young to old, including animals, especially a "cat from hell," and - in an amazing story called A Cuckoo's Lament - the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, a distinctly adventuresome bird who wants to "fly beyond that Midnight Twelve, to fly beyond Infinity!"In the novella, The Witch of Tabaquite, you'll find voodoo, madness, and murder on an island in the Caribbean.Take the voyage into these stories. You won't be disappointed.

Of Bliss and Granted Wishes is a true story. To avoid retiring to a nursing home, Sam and Sophie Foster remodel their house and ask a family (mother, father, three children, and a dog!) to move in with them. Filled with humor, rich with compassion, undying love, and a determined refusal to give in to decrepitude and Sam's loss of memory, their story is proof that, in the words of Ireland's great poet, Thomas Moore, "the heart that has truly loved never forgets."

'Akiro Maru did not look like a chef, far less a man of thirty. Thin, pale, and possessing a boy's face, everyone mistook him to be no more than sixteen. Everyone mistook him in other ways as well.'So begins this droll comedy of lust, deception, adultery, and an Ambassador's obsessive desire for superb Japanese cuisine. It may leave you wondering just how high, really, is the cost for a pot of hot green tea and fresh conch sushi.Heartburn, or . . . ? The answer will astonish you.

Growing up is never easy, but as everyone knows, it can sometimes be exceptionally difficult. This coming-of-age story, a true Bildungsroman, rich in detail, much of it seriously disturbing, is yet rich with humour, friendships, and wisdom. Beginning on the Caribbean island of Trinidad during WWII, the story moves to the Pacific Northwest, then to California, and back to Trinidad, as we follow the triumphs and the tragedies of Arthur (nicknamed Poonky Doodles by his godfather), through his childhood and his teen years, as he tries to find out who he is, who and what he wants to become, and why life can be very cruel even when he tries to do all the right things. This novel of growth, of strength, and of survival, though told through the mask of fiction, is a true story about real people and events. It is a tale you will long remember.

Disagreement in Eden, A Comedy in One-Act, is an irreverent satire about Adam and Eve and their conflict about the Forbidden Fruit. While the Lord and Satan, awaiting the outcome, play chess, Gabriel, a cynical cornet-player, asks, "And what, my Lord, is 'Sin'? It sounds like an inspired name for a perfume." The answer he receives is alarming. This little play will alarm you into laughter.

Turandot's Ukulele is an endearing story about a boy's love for his aunt, an elderly spinster who introduces him to grand opera at the Metropolitan. It also validates great music's power to remove the stings of tragedy, transform the simplest lives, and inspire startling ideas.Fascinated by the Hawaiian ukulele, as well as loving Puccini's Turandot, our young operagoer sees no reason why "the plinky-plunky splendour of the leaping flea" can't be part of the Met's huge orchestra, right in there with the loudest trumpets and the big Chinese gong.Told as a fond remembrance filled with droll humour and gentle wisdom, this is a tale for all ages and begs reading aloud.

Though written for youngsters, these seven plays are suitable for audiences of all ages. All but one have been successfully produced in the U.S. by amateur theatre companies as well as university theatre departments. You will find here simple plays in one act, as well as full-length dramas epic in scope, comedies and melodramas. There is even a short radio play, which offers an illuminating moral, and a whimsical farce to be acted by clowns. These plays are also fun to read, and especially to read aloud.

H.D. Greaves, taking his cue from the great Nineteenth Century melodramas-lavish entertainments that featured moments of whimsy and pathos balanced against moments of terror-has fashioned a spectacular three-act play that delights with its comedy and, for the very young, terrifies with its intensity.This magical retelling of the famous Grimm Brothers folk tale has been successfully produced by avocational theatre companies using large casts comprised of adults and children (and even a well-behaved cat).Should you be interested in producing this play, important production information is included.

Gnatwing! A Farce for Clowns is Theatre-of-the-Absurd for youngsters, parents, and all the young at heart. Featuring direct audience involvement in a frantic game of hide-and-seek, and a chase that mirrors animated cartoons, Gnatwing!-in clown face and exaggerated movement-is incredibly zany. Based on a Scandinavian folk tale, this play in performance transforms into a wonderfully inspired madness. After the premiere of Gnatwing!, Robert Long, a sixth grade teacher, said, "In all my years of teaching and attending plays with school children, I've never before experienced anything like the enthusiastic audience participation I witnessed tonight. It was electric." Over the years, Mr. Long's comments have been echoed by other teachers and parents, as well as by the actors caught in the uproariously funny hide-and-seek climax of the play. Should you wish to produce Gnatwing! Important Performance Information is included.

"Atascadero!" (Spanish slang for 'pigpen' or 'big mess'), premiered at The Santa Barbara Playhouse, Santa Barbara, California, in 1974. Since then, it has been successfully produced by community theatre organizations, as well as college and university theatre departments. It is adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's The Swineherd, a story he first heard as a bawdy German joke.The Santa Barbara production used two real pigs, and those beasts were as charming as they were alarming. Human actors have since played the pigs, adding an entirely new and welcome dimension to the play's humour.Whereas other versions change the ending to 'happily ever after', this play retains the bittersweet ending as in the original Hans Christian Andersen folk tale.

Add a conniving servant and his amoral master; a murderous priest and his equally homicidal sidekick; a beautiful but barren wife wed to an ancient attorney; and a potion brewed from Mandragora, a plant alleged to help women conceive, and you have a prescription for pandemonium, especially when Mandragora (known in less reputable circles as "God's Little Joke"), possesses a Fatal Flaw.Filled with bawdy and irreverent wit, outrageous situations, characters it would be grossly unwise to invite for dinner, and lots of good old-fashioned belly laughs, this literate and sophisticated satire is a joy to read from start to satisfying-and most surprising-finale.Based on The Mandrake, notorious Niccolò Machiavelli's Italian Renaissance comedy, Mandragora is the only novel ever created-even after five centuries!-from his infamous play.

On the Caribbean island of Arouca, Father Valencienne, young and idealistic, strives to enlighten what he perceives as ignorant natives; but a mysterious and beautiful woman, as well as the powerful forces of voodoo, the ancient religion brought by slaves from Africa, create doubt and confusion, profoundly intruding upon his faith and, ultimately, his life. With the safety of an entire village at stake, he must battle demons, lust, and above all, madness and murder.

Isak Dinesen wrote about a friend that he "ate of the ripened heart of life." This is a tale of two such people. One, an eccentric old woman, the other an embittered and lonely man; they meet, and a friendship develops that gives renewed hope to one and which completely transcends the other. This story is true; only the locations are changed. Dear friends of the author, he felt compelled to write about them, and what they show us of compassion, understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, and the wondrous quality of bliss. This is the LARGE PRINT paperback edition.