Alan Bennett, The History Boys

Nicolas Tredell (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2004

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Alan Bennett's play

The History Boys

(2004) proved a great success at London's National Theatre and on Broadway, with a film version released in October 2006. Bennett's lively two-act drama is packed with jokes, wordplay, poetry and music. It combines elements of comedy, tragedy, elegy, satire and farce to dramatize key questions about the purpose of education, the ethics of teaching, and the function of history in ways that are funny, provocative, moving and profound.

The play opens with Irwin, a forty-something government spin-doctor in a wheelchair, advising MPs on how to present to the public a controversial Bill to limit trial by jury. He suggests that such legislation should be portrayed as restricting liberty in order to provide greater security, comparing this trade-off to

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1910 words

Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "The History Boys". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19266, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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