Bertolt Brecht's extraordinary historical novel presents an aspiring
scholar's efforts to write an idealized life of Julius Caesar twenty
years after his death. But the historian abandons his planned
biography, confronted by a baffling range of contradictory views. Was
Caesar an opportunist, a permanently bankrupt businessman who became
too big for the banks to allow him to fail – as his former banker
claims? Did he stumble into power while trying to make money, as
suggested by the diary of his former slave? Across these different
versions of Caesar's career in the political and economic life of
Rome, Brecht wryly contrasts the narratives of imperial progress with
the reality of grasping self-interest, in a sly allegory that points
to the Weimar Republic and perhaps even to our own times. Brecht
reminds his readers of the need for constant vigilance and critical
suspicion towards the great figures of the past. In an echo of his
dramatic theories, the audience is confronted with its own task of
active interpretation rather than passive acceptance -- we have to
work out our own views about Mr Julius Caesar. This edition is
translated by Charles Osborne and features an introduction and
editorial notes by Anthony Phelan and Tom Kuhn.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781472582751
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Methuen Drama
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter