Louisa's review

The Man Born to Be King
by Dorothy L. Sayers

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/351564.The_Man_Born_to_Be_King?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Man Born to Be King" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173993931m/351564.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/351564.The_Man_Born_to_Be_King?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Man Born to Be King</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8734.Dorothy_L_Sayers">Dorothy L. Sayers</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3551788?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an amazing book that I underestimated for a decade. 
 
 When I first tried to read it, i was already skeptical because of the sickly sentimentality of the cover (which makes the book look, in the best case, like a christmas book); i skipped the introduction & fairly early came upon Jesus described as "that man with the golden hair"... i couldn't take it and put the book down. 
 BUT THESE ARE NOT SERIOUS, ENDEMIC PROBLEMS and the book turns out to be enchanting (I did make a cover for it out of some William Morris wrapping paper). 
 They were radio plays covering the entire life of Christ (hardly christmas at all!!) done in Britain in the middle of WWII (in 1942 Sayers may well not have realized yet how creepy it was to give Jesus "golden hair," and at any rate it doesn't come up again). 
 The plays themselves are wonderful, and almost as wonderful are her instructions to each actor of how to play his or her character or what the characters are thinking. 
 But i think i can do no better with this review than to quote from Sayers' amazing introduction, worthy of reading by itself.
 
 "A loose & sentimental theology begets loose & sentimental art-forms; an illogical theology lands one in illogical situations; an ill-balanced theology issues in false emphasis & absurdity. Conversely; there is no more searching test of a theology than to submit it to dramatic handling; nothing so glaringly exposes inconsistencies in a character, a story, or a philosophy as to put it up on the stage & allow it to speak for itself...."
 However, she continues:
 "In writing a play on this particular subject, the dramatist must begin by ridding himself of all edificatory & theological intentions. He must set out, not to instruct but to show forth; not to point a moral but to tell a story; not to produce a Divinity Lesson with illustrations in dialogue but to write a good piece of theater...
 "For a work of art that is not good & true in art is not good or true in any other respect & is useless for any purpose whatsoever--even for edification--because it is a lie, and the devil is the father of all such. As drama, these plays stand or fall."
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/222531?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Louisa's review
rating:

recommended for: people who are interested & like plays
status: Read in April, 2007

This is an amazing book that I underestimated for a decade.

When I first tried to read it, i was already skeptical because of the sickly sentimentality of the cover (which makes the book look, in the best case, like a christmas book); i skipped the introduction & fairly early came upon Jesus described as "that man with the golden hair"... i couldn't take it and put the book down.
BUT THESE ARE NOT SERIOUS, ENDEMIC PROBLEMS and the book turns out to be enchanting (I did make a cover for it out of some William Morris wrapping paper).
They were radio plays covering the entire life of Christ (hardly christmas at all!!) done in Britain in the middle of WWII (in 1942 Sayers may well not have realized yet how creepy it was to give Jesus "golden hair," and at any rate it doesn't come up again).
The plays themselves are wonderful, and almost as wonderful are her instructions to each actor of how to play his or her character or what the characters are thinki...more This is an amazing book that I underestimated for a decade.

When I first tried to read it, i was already skeptical because of the sickly sentimentality of the cover (which makes the book look, in the best case, like a christmas book); i skipped the introduction & fairly early came upon Jesus described as "that man with the golden hair"... i couldn't take it and put the book down.
BUT THESE ARE NOT SERIOUS, ENDEMIC PROBLEMS and the book turns out to be enchanting (I did make a cover for it out of some William Morris wrapping paper).
They were radio plays covering the entire life of Christ (hardly christmas at all!!) done in Britain in the middle of WWII (in 1942 Sayers may well not have realized yet how creepy it was to give Jesus "golden hair," and at any rate it doesn't come up again).
The plays themselves are wonderful, and almost as wonderful are her instructions to each actor of how to play his or her character or what the characters are thinking.
But i think i can do no better with this review than to quote from Sayers' amazing introduction, worthy of reading by itself.

"A loose & sentimental theology begets loose & sentimental art-forms; an illogical theology lands one in illogical situations; an ill-balanced theology issues in false emphasis & absurdity. Conversely; there is no more searching test of a theology than to submit it to dramatic handling; nothing so glaringly exposes inconsistencies in a character, a story, or a philosophy as to put it up on the stage & allow it to speak for itself...."
However, she continues:
"In writing a play on this particular subject, the dramatist must begin by ridding himself of all edificatory & theological intentions. He must set out, not to instruct but to show forth; not to point a moral but to tell a story; not to produce a Divinity Lesson with illustrations in dialogue but to write a good piece of theater...
"For a work of art that is not good & true in art is not good or true in any other respect & is useless for any purpose whatsoever--even for edification--because it is a lie, and the devil is the father of all such. As drama, these plays stand or fall."...less

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