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T. S. Eliot

The Cocktail Party Hardcover – Illustrated, March 18 1964

by T. S. Eliot (Author)

4.3 95 ratings

Part of: Faber Drama (71 books)

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A modern verse play about the search for meaning, in which a psychiatrist is the catalyst for the action. “An authentic modern masterpiece” (New York Post). “Eliot really does portray real-seeming characters. He cuts down his poetic effects to the minimum, and then finally rewards us with most beautiful poetry” (Stephen Spender).

Part of series

Faber Drama
Print length

204 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ecco
Publication date

March 18 1964
Dimensions

13.97 x 1.42 x 21.59 cm
ISBN-10

0544310268
ISBN-13

978-0544310261
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From the Publisher

Product description

About the Author

THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1888. He moved to England in 1914 and published his first book of poems in 1917. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Eliot died in 1965.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco; Illustrated edition (March 18 1964)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 204 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0544310268
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0544310261
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 503 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 1.42 x 21.59 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #2,424,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,004 in Dramas & Plays by Women
- #2,585 in American Dramas & Plays
- #3,403 in British & Irish Dramas & Plays

Customer Reviews:
4.3 95 ratings

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T. S. Eliot

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Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri, and became a British subject in 1927. The acclaimed poet of The Waste Land, Four Quartets, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, among numerous other poems, prose, and works of drama, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. T.S. Eliot died in 1965 in London, England, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Photo by Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873–1938) derivative work: Octave.H [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

95 global ratings

5 star		57%
4 star		24%
3 star		15%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Who are we in society?

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 14, 2019

What is there not to like about a T. S. Eliot play, unless you are deep in the throes of despair as to your unfulfilled destiny and can't see the proverbial forest for the trees. In this case, the party for the cocktails. Everyone in this theatrical masterpiece is in a personal prison that prevents them from seeing themselves except through the eyes of others. What Eliot creates here is a stage of friends, acquaintances and intimates preparing for a good old cocktail party - a supposedly ideal occasion to toast nostalgia. What happens, however, is one big alienating experience where fear of the unknown abounds, trust in tradition falters, and hope for the future hangs precariously by a thread. Eliot's postwar English society is a very fragile one in serious need of something to bring spiritually empty people back together in the spirit of harmony and understanding, even if it is only to get them to acknowledge that they are not solitary creatures.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 25, 2000

I am personally not a fan of Eliot, due to the fact that I, most unfortunately, started off with "The Wasteland", which is, as I am sure anyone reading this review will know, is not exactly an easy read, especially at age 12. However, "The Cocktail Party" seems to grasp me still, days after I have finished reading it. It is such a witty, humorous comedy that mocks the modern ages, and pretty much everyone who seems to be a part of this insane, chaotic world (at least as I understood it). I recommend this for anyone looking a good book to do a book report on, or someone looking for the meaning of life and/or in need of serious 'ponder' over the universe in a philosophical, poetic, aesthetic way.

Helpful

Carl Tait

Funny-strange, not funny-haha

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 15, 2000

Although this play of 1950 was Eliot's first full-length comedy, he had made an earlier stab at the genre in the 1920s: "Sweeney Agonistes," a first-rate work that unfortunately remained unfinished and is now included in collections of Eliot's poetry. "Sweeney" was a jazzy, dark comedy with originality and verve; by comparison, "The Cocktail Party" is tepid indeed.
Even judged on its own merits, however, this play falls short. The first half is enjoyable enough: an unusually well-written English drawing-room comedy with serious overtones. The play begins to fall apart with the bizarre sessions of pseudo-psychotherapy in Act 2, and degenerates into overt Christian flag-waving by the final scene.
Yet the play is still well worth reading. It is more accessible that Eliot's earlier plays and was a surprise hit on Broadway when it first opened. It is still occasionally revived today; one production featured Nancy Walker in the plum role of Julia, a seemingly scatterbrained older woman. ("Salvation! The quicker picker-upper!")

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Top reviews from other countries

giddykipper

Play book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

I needed this book for a summer school course this August I found it to be perfectly adequate for the purpose

J. A. B. Moulson

Very good as a wanted present

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 7, 2012

Verified Purchase

The person who requested it is currently enjoying it and I will probably borrow it too when she has finished with it.

Ragdoll Radio

Excellent.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

Great yet weird play.

Jane

Wonderful!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

I wasn't expecting much as the price was so low but the book arrived quicker than
expected and in immaculate condition! I will definitely be using them again!

One person found this helpful

Ritu

Awesome

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on August 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

Book in very good condition, worth price

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The Cocktail Party Hardcover – Illustrated, March 18 1964

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T. S. Eliot

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