THE STORY: Chapman describes, Sherwood let his frequently impish imagination toy with an item in the history books--the one in which Mrs. Robert Murray beguiles British General Sir William Howe into tarrying in her home instead of pushing on with h

Since this Manhattan neighborhood was named for the Murray family and their contributions to the American Revolution, many of New York's most illustrious residents have made Murray Hill their home. The mansions of J.P. Morgan Jr. and William Waldorf Astor stood along its streets. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt lived here as newlyweds, as did Admiral Farragut, Commodore Perry and Sinclair Lewis, along with Andy Warhol's famous "Factory." Not only homes but also many quintessential New York landmarks are located in this historic district--visit the original Tiffany & Company building, the Civic Club, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and a once-famous B. Altman Department Store that is now New York's Science, Industry and Business Library. Experience the striking architecture and discover the stories of Manhattan's Murray Hill.

Live theatre was once the main entertainment medium in the United States and the United Kingdom. The preeminent dramatists and actors of the day wrote and performed in numerous plays in which crime was a major plot element. This remains true today, especially with the longest-running shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd. While hundreds of books have been published about crime fiction in film and on television, the topic of stage mysteries has been largely unexplored. Covering productions from the 18th century to the 2013-2014 theatre season, this is the first history of crime plays according to subject matter. More than 20 categories are identified, including whodunits, comic mysteries, courtroom dramas, musicals, crook plays, social issues, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie. Nearly 900 plays are described, including the reactions of critics and audiences.

When you think of the American Revolution, perhaps you envision the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's infamous ride, or George Washington crossing the Delaware River. But there are many other, lesser-known stories of the war that engulfed women's lives as it did the lives of their fathers, husbands, and sons. Some women served as spies, nurses, and water carriers; some helped as fundraisers, writers, and couriers; and still others functioned as resistors, rescuers, and—surprisingly—even soldiers. Most often, their names did not make it into history books. In Women Heroes of the American Revolution, these fascinating women step into the spotlight they deserve. You'll learn about such brave rebels as Martha Bratton, who blew up a supply of gunpowder to keep it out of the hands of approaching British troops and boldly claimed, "It was I who did it!"; 16-year-old Sybil Ludington, who rode her horse Star twice as far as the legendary Paul revere did in order to help her father, Colonel Ludington, muster his scattered troops to fight the British; and Deborah Sampson Gannett, who bound her chest, dressed as a man, enlisted in the Continental Army as Robert Shurtliff, and served undetected for three years alongside her fellow soldiers. These and 17 other inspiring stories of women and girls contributing to our nation's independence are recounted through energetic narrative and revealing letters and documents that allow us to hear the voices of the women themselves and those who knew and admired them.

From the 1920s through the 1950s Maxwell Anderson was one of the most important playwrights in America. His thirty-three produced plays make him a leader among these playwrights of America's most creative era in the theater, and a number of his plays have shown a lasting vitality and importance. What Price Glory (1924) dramatized the disillusionment and horror of World War I . With Elizabeth the Queen (1929), Winterset (1935), and High Tor (1936), Anderson revived poetic drama in the modern theater. His versatility as a playwright was further reflected in the satire Both Your Houses (1933), the historical parable Joan of Lorraine (1946), and the musical play Lost in the Stars (1949). This edition of Anderson's letters spans his adult life -- from 1912, shortly after he graduated from the University of North Dakota, to 1958, just before his death. Arranged chronologically, the letters reveal in full and intimate detail the development of his career, his methods of work, his relationships with theater people, his conceptions of himself as a playwright and of the nature of the theater, and his ideas about his plays, all of which focused on an inner moral struggle. Every aspect of his work and personality emerges in these letters, which serve as an autobiography in the rough. Each letter is fully annotated, permitting the reader to become a party to the correspondence. The editor has provided an informative introduction to the letters and also a substantial chronology of Anderson's life that incorporates the first complete bibliography of his plays, poems, essays, fiction, and screenplays. An appendix includes Anderson's previously unpublished statements about his life and his plays. Dramatist in America, the first edition of letters by a major American playwright, takes on added importance for its representative quality. It reveals the cultural and theatrical conditions under which a vital generation of playwrights created this country's finest period in the drama.

"Each player is discussed in a brief biography, followed by a complete list of every play and character they performed in New York. Also included are plays and musicals that were heading to New York but closed before opening. Cast replacements are indicated as well as Tony nominations and awards. Within Enter the Players, each actor comes alive as his or her career is revealed step-by-step, role-by-role. This book is an invaluable reference work and provides hours of fascinating browsing for anyone who loves theatre."--BOOK JACKET.