Under the Gaslight: A Totally Original and Picturesque Drama of Life and Love in These Times, in Five Acts

by Augustin Daly

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Genres: Plays, Theatre, Classics

58 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

American playwright and theatrical manager John Augustin Daly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusti...

Reviews

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sort of decided to read this just because I came across a mention of it and I was curious. I'm glad I did. It's not a perfect play, it feels a tad rushed and I think so many characters with such a short story gets a little overwhelming.

But overall, I was really impressed. There were some pretty progressive social viewpoints for the mid-1800s, I was actually surprised at how progressive. Then there's the fact that the heroine ends up being one of the bravest and most capable characters in the play when even currently women get relegated to useless love interest. The characters were surprisingly nuanced for how short the play was, and even though they weren't the most original, they were still not the stereotypes that I'm used to having to deal with. I kind of wish this had been a book or novella instead, because I think it would have helped with the pace, and also I just liked reading it and wanted more.

Before this, I had never heard of Augustin Daly, but now I'm genuinely interested to see if he wrote anything else.

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really enjoying the play immensely, until the big aha moment at the end. The plot is very advanced for its time. It is a melodrama though, so the ending was still predictable. I still gave it a 4, only because the first 90% was extremely enjoyable.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guy gets tied to some railroad tracks! Exciting stuff! What'll they think of next?

[Ceola Daly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drama 120: Heritage of Dramatic Literature