Böcker av James Armstrong

This book reinterprets British dramas of the early-nineteenth century through the lens of the star actors for whom they were written. Unlike most playwrights of previous generations, the writers of British Romantic dramas generally did not work in the theatre themselves. However, they closely followed the careers of star performers. Even when they did not directly know actors, they had what media theorists have dubbed "e;para-social interactions"e; with those stars, interacting with them through the mediation of mass communication, whether as audience members, newspaper and memoir readers, or consumers of prints, porcelain miniatures, and other manifestations of "e;fan"e; culture. This study takes an in-depth look at four pairs of performers and playwrights: Sarah Siddons and Joanna Baillie, Julia Glover and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Edmund Kean and Lord Byron, and Eliza O'Neill and Percy Bysshe Shelley. These charismatic performers, knowingly or not, helped to guide the development of a character-based theatre-from the emotion-dominated plays made popular by Baillie to the pinnacle of Romantic drama under Shelley. They shepherded in a new style of writing that had verbal sophistication and engaged meaningfully with the moral issues of the day. They helped to create not just new modes of acting, but new ways of writing that could make use of their extraordinary talents.

Wide-ranging expert advice about how to navigate in a complex world where change is a constant we can choose to embrace and use to our advantage.

Rock Hardis a gentle thriller""James Armstrong.writes a feel-good thriller that is difficult to put down. I found myself begrudging every minute I couldn't spend reading the book. There are a few novels I reread every few years; Rock Hard is one of those."-Connie Murphy, The Chronicle-Express________________________________________________________________________ Someone has been trying to kill Fuzzy Grebbs since the day he was born. Yet, this drummer for a super-star rock band is so loved by the devoted fans in his hometown that they're willing to lay down their lives to thwart a diabolical serial killer and quell the terror. This nostalgic rock-it ride through the 20th Century explores the rock-and-roll business from the inside out, from barrooms to world tours, from family love to ruthless killers. As the village unites, and as Fuzzy blasts to world fame, the residents learn to overcome prejudice and find lasting peace.________________________________________________________________ James Armstrong is the author of two published novels, The Asexuals and Subsect. He also teaches and tutors for Finger Lakes Community College in Upstate New York.