Theatre of Fear & Horror: Expanded Edition: The Grisly Spectacle of the Grand Guignol of Paris 1897-1962

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"Bloodcurdling shrieks fiendish schemes deeds of darkness mayhem and mutilationwe all have a rough idea of what Grand Guignol stands for. But until now it has been hard to find out much more about it than that. According to the American theater historian Mel Gordon no major history of the theater so much as mentions it although it is a form of entertainment that held its own on the Paris stage for more than half a century. But Mr. Gordon has made a thorough job of filling the gap."John Gross The New York Times Here is the expanded edition of classic outr book The Grand Guignol first published in 1988 and now long out of print. Like the original anthology it includes an illustrated introduction to the theater of Paris and abroad a breakdown of its stage tricks a summary of one hundred plots extensive photo documentation Andr de Lords essay "Fear in Literature " and two originally produced Grand Guignol scripts. The expanded edition also contains additional graphic and textual material including a color insert of Grand Guignol posters; the 1938 autobiographical account of Maxa the companys leading female performer entitled "I Am the Maddest Woman in the World"; and the controversial playscript Orgy in the Lighthouse.