Jump to content

Jenny Villiers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Scythrop Glowry (talk | contribs) at 19:26, 7 October 2023 (Note on the play version.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jenny Villiers: A Story of the Theatre
First edition
AuthorJ. B. Priestley
IllustratorM. Elaine Hancock
LanguageEnglish
GenreGhost story
PublisherWilliam Heinemann
Publication date
3 January 1947
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
PagesIV + 190pp
OCLC8306303

Jenny Villiers: A Story of the Theatre is a short novel by J. B. Priestley, first published in 1947.[1]

A successful but dispirited playwright is supervising the rehearsals of his new play, The Glass Door, at an old theatre in North England. The actors are irritated by his cynical attitude, but when left alone in the darkened green room he experiences visions of a 19th-century tragedy which alter his outlook on his profession.

In 1978 it was reprinted by Stein and Day, in a collection of works by Priestley entitled My Three Favorite Novels. The others were Angel Pavement and Bright Day.


Main characters

1946

  • Martin Cheveril, a 50-year-old playwright
  • Pauline Fraser, a 45-year-old actress
  • Mr Otley, the manager
  • Ann Seward, an aspiring 23-year-old actress

1846

  • Jenny Villiers, a 24-year-old actress
  • Julian Napier, a young actor
  • Walter Kettle, a stagehand

Priestley's play of the same title was performed by the Bristol Old Vic in 1946.

  1. ^ Kritzwiser, K.M. (16 February 1948). "Time and Mr. Priestly: "Jenny Villiers"". The Leader-Post.

ol