Memory of Two Mondays: Methuen Student Editions

'Nothing in this book was written with greater love, and for myself I love nothing printed here better than this play' Arthur Miller. The one-act play A Memory of Two Mondays (1955) is one of Miller's most overtly autobiographical works. It chronicles the playwright at the age of eighteen during the early 1930s when he briefly worked at an auto parts warehouse in New York to save enough money to attend college. More than just autobiographical, the play captures the sociopolitical climate of the Great Depression. It resonates with and brings to the surface the cultural concerns and anxieties of the period. The setting, characters, theme, style, structure and language all exemplify the social and economic tensions of the country at its lowest ebb, when it needed a sense of hope, endurance, and solidarity. At the same time, the play speaks to the 1950s, when the country was being torn apart by McCarthyism. A Memory of Two Mondays responded to a culture caught in the grip of a Communist hysteria that turned people against each other. This scholarly edition is perfect for students. It features an extensive commentary on the context, themes, structure, style, language and characters, a survey of the play in production and questions for further study. Methuen Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of a wide range of plays from the modern and classic repertoires featuring extensive notes, commentary, further reading and questions for students.