100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Auckland Bookstore open Sunday 8:30am-5:00pm πŸ“š

Romans

A Novel
Series: Modern Plays
4.19 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 16 ratings, 2 reviews)
Brief Description
Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026Nominated for Best Play at the London Standard Theatre Awards 2026 Adventure and Truth. Sacrifice everything for it. It is worth it. He is a motherless child. A bullied schoolboy. An adventurer scaling mountains. A... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3299
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

A monumental, kaleidoscopic portrait of masculinity from the nineteenth century to the present day written by Award-winning playwright Alice Birch (Anatomy of a Suicide; Normal People)

A monumental, kaleidoscopic portrait of masculinity from the nineteenth century to the present day written by Award-winning playwright Alice Birch (Anatomy of a Suicide; Normal People)

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Nominated for Best New Play at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2026
Nominated for Best Play at the London Standard Theatre Awards 2026

Adventure and Truth. Sacrifice everything for it. It is worth it.

He is a motherless child. A bullied schoolboy. An adventurer scaling mountains. A coloniser of land, of people. Brother. Father. Soldier. Cult leader. He is sipping champagne at his book launch. He is up by 4am for weights, cardio, ice bath. He is recording a podcast. He is living as a badger.

Award-winning writer Alice Birch’s (Anatomy of a Suicide; Normal People) monumental, kaleidoscopic portrait of masculinity from the nineteenth century to the present day explores how male narratives have shaped the world we know.

This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere production at the Almeida Theatre in September 2025, featuring Olivier Award-winner Kyle Soller.

Series: Modern Plays

View all
  • The Play That Goes Wrong
    Good evening. I’m Inspector Carter. Take my case. This must be Charles Haversham! I’m sorry, this must’ve given you all a damn shock. After benefitting from a large and sudden inheritance, the inept and accident-prone Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society embark on producing an ambitious 1920s murder mystery. They are delighted that neither casting issues nor technical hitches currently stand in...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
    My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and the capital cities. And every prime number up to 7507. Christopher, fifteen years old, stands beside Mrs Shears's dead dog. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in...
    Paperback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Punch
    "Another state-of-the-nation masterpiece from James Graham" - The Telegraph One life has been wasted, because of this. Senseless, no reason at all. So where’s the sense in wasting another? If we can β€˜help’ him? Jacob Dunne, a teenager from Nottingham, spends his Saturday nights seeking thrills with his friends. One fateful evening, an impulsive punch leads to fatal consequences. After...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Emilia
    Winner of the Noel Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy at the 2020 Olivier Awards In 1611, Emilia Bassano wrote a volume of radical, feminist, and subversive poetry. It was one of the first published collections of poetry written by a woman in England. The little we know of Emilia Bassano is restricted to the possibility that she may...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Women of Troy
    An industrial port of a war-torn city. Women survivors wait to be shipped abroad. Officials come and go. A grandmother, once Queen, watches as her remaining family are taken from her one by one. The city burns around them. The Women of Troy, Euripides' great anti-war tragedy, is published in Don Taylor's translation to coincide with the National Theatre's production...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Twelve Angry Men
    New York, summer 1954Criminal Courts BuildingA man is deadThe life of another is at stakeA "guilty" verdict seems a foregone conclusion. But one member of the jury has the will to probe more deeply into the evidence and the courage to confront the ignorance and the prejudice of some of his fellow jurors. The conflict which follows is fierce and...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Mother Courage and Her Children
    Mother Courage and Her Children was first performed in Zurich in 1941 and is usually seen as Brecht's greatest work. Remaining a powerful indictment of war and social injustice, it is an epic drama set in the seventeenth century during the Thirty Years' War. The plot follows the resilient Mother Courage, who survives by running a commissary business that profits...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • An Experiment With An Air Pump
    An Experiment with an Air Pump is Shelagh Stephenson's daring and thoughtful new play. 1799 - On the eve of a new century, the house buzzes with scientific experiments, furtive romance, and farcical amateur dramatics. 1999 - In a world of scientific chaos, cloning, and genetic engineering, the cellar of the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Little Women
    Romantic Meg. Shy Beth. Wilful Amy. And, of course, passionate and fiery Jo. Little Women tells the story of the March sisters growing up in genteel poverty against the backdrop of the American Civil War. This timeless tale of four sisters' adventures has enchanted millions of readers, and is now available in this acclaimed adaptation for the stage.
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Hamnet
    She’s like no one I’ve ever met... She’s like fire and water all at once. Warwickshire, 1582. Agnes Hathaway, a natural healer, meets the Latin tutor, William Shakespeare. Drawn together by powerful but hidden impulses, they create a life together and make a family. As William moves to London to discover his place in the world of theatre, Agnes stays...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • DNA
    A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that the cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their otherwise fractious lives, where’s the incentive to put things right? DNA is a poignant and, sometimes, hilarious tale with a very dark heart. A contemporary play for younger people,...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    When this adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s classic children’s story opened at the RSC Stratford in November 1998, it received rave reviews and broke box office records. Four children are evacuated from London during the Blitz. While exploring the Professor’s house, they stumble across the gateway to another world, and the adventure begins. The land of Narnia is under the...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350605534

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 September 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 174g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Alice Birch is a British playwright and screenwriter. Her previous work includes Peckham: The Soap Opera and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again (RSC). Other credits include: We Want You To Watch (National), The Lone Pine Club (Pentabus), Little Light (Orange Tree), Little on the Inside (Almeida / Clean Break), Salt (Comedie de Valence), Many Moons (Theatre 503), Flying the Nest (BBC Radio 4) and Lady Macbeth (BBC Films / BFI / Creative England). Alice was the co-winner of the 2014 George Devine Award for Revolt. She said. Revolt Again and winner of the Arts Foundation Award for Playwriting 2014.

Also by Alice Birch

View all
  • Normal People
    'You know, I did used to think that I could read your mind at times.' 'In bed you mean.' 'Yeah. And afterwards but I dunno maybe that's normal.' 'It's not.' Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular. Marianne is a loner. But...
    Hardback
    $4500
    Elsewhere:
    $4999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Revolt. She said. Revolt again
    Through a series of arresting vignettes and a collection of nameless characters, Alice Birch examines the language, behaviour and forces that shape women in the 21st century. The play asks what is stopping us from doing something truly radical to change them? Written in response to the provocation that well-behaved women seldom make history, the play is an assault on...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Anatomy of a Suicide
    Alice Birch’s new play is scored like a piece of music ... It is an extraordinary echoing text, full of pain and strange beauty. The three stories play out simultaneously on stage, the dialogue from one scene overlapping with the other two in a manner that borders on the choral ... Birch has provided a text that explores these ideas...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Rebel Voices: Monologues for Women by Women
    Clean Break is a British theatre company set up in 1979 by two women in prison. It exists to tell the stories of women with experience of the criminal justice system and to transform women's lives through theatre. Over 40 years, Clean Break has commissioned some of the most progressive and brilliant women writers to write ground-breaking plays, alongside developing...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Arts & Culture

View all
  • Dylan's Pick
    Bold Types
    A tribute to 32 truly independent bookshops throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, from north of Auckland down to Dunedin, and coast to coast. Jane Ussher's photographs show every bookstore in its unique nature - including behind the counter, smoko rooms, the mess which tells the hardworking story behind the joy of matching books with customers. Jemma Moreira's careful editing has crafted...
    Hardback
    $5999
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • They Bloom Because of You
    Bestselling author and Instagram sensation Jessica Urlichs returns with a new collection of beautifully observed poems about the ever-evolving journey of motherhood - the hard, the magic and the fleeting. β€˜A raw and honest read that makes you feel seen and understood in a way that will bring you to tears.’ - Hilary Swank β€˜A book to keep close and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Leaves of Grass
    A collectible new Penguin Classics series offers beautiful, slim, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets. In 1855, Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouragement led to what would become a lifelong project, as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death...
    Hardback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them
    Throughout history, cats and writers have bonded together in a magical combination of comfort, companionship and inspiration. The famous authors featured here range from Samuel Johnson, whose cat Hodge dined on oysters, and Edward Lear, whose charismatic cat Foss was missing half his tail, to Margaret Mitchell, L. M. Montgomery and Dorothy L. Sayers, who rescued her kitten Blitz from...
    Hardback
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Beautiful Chaos
    The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller Selected poems from bestselling author and Instagram poet, Jessica Urlichs. 'These words awaken the magic of life by celebrating the ordinary.' - Giovanna Fletcher Motherhood is messy and beautiful, and hard and humbling. We adore our children and sometimes we miss ourselves. Beautiful Chaos is a collection of raw, honest poems about motherhood, capturing everything...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Odyssey
    Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travellers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative....
    By Homer
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3599
    Backorder
    Ships late August
  • Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour
    The creative journey continues with Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour by Keri Smith, the latest and most vibrant edition of the groundbreaking series that redefined journaling. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this edition brings the playful destructiveness of the original to life in dazzling full colour, adding a dynamic new dimension to the beloved prompts. Whether you're a seasoned Wreck-er,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Did I Ever Tell You This?
    In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion. By his own account, his...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    Backorder
    Ships early September
  • A Thousand Feasts
    THE INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From award-winning writer Nigel Slater, comes a new and exquisitely written collection of notes, memoir, stories and small moments of joy. 'Nigel Slater’s prose is the rarest delicacy of all: exquisite yet effortless, filled with heart, tenderness, yearning and humour' ELIZABETH DAY For years, Nigel Slater has kept notebooks of curiosities and wonderings, penned...
    Paperback
    $2999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Deliver Me from Nowhere (Movie Tie-In)
    An updated movie tie-in edition of the fascinating story behind the making of Bruce Springsteen's most surprising album, Nebraska, and its pivotal role in the rock legend's career. The inspiration for the major motion picture starring Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong. The fascinating story behind the making of Bruce Springsteen's most surprising album, Nebraska, revealing its pivotal role in...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.