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A Taste of Honey

By Shelagh Delaney
Series: Student Editions
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Brief Description
A Taste of Honey, Shelagh Delaney's 1958 play, was written when she was only 19 years old. It brought the lives and struggles of northern, working-class people onto the stage. Initially dividing the critics—some of whom regarded it as 'immature'—it went on to become one of... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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This Student Edition of Shelagh Delaney's 1958 plays offers a contemporary lens on the play and its then-radical exploration of themes including class, race, gender and homosexuality.

This Student Edition of Shelagh Delaney's 1958 plays offers a contemporary lens on the play and its then-radical exploration of themes including class, race, gender and homosexuality.

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

A Taste of Honey, Shelagh Delaney's 1958 play, was written when she was only 19 years old. It brought the lives and struggles of northern, working-class people onto the stage. Initially dividing the critics—some of whom regarded it as 'immature'—it went on to become one of the most defining plays of the twentieth century.

This Student Edition contains a commentary by Hannah Simpson, Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, UK. It explores various themes in relation to the play:

  • gender roles
  • homosexuality
  • race
  • class
  • youth
  • 1950s notions of family

In addition, it examines the play's production history, different ways it has been staged, and its critical reception. The analysis also delves into the form of kitchen-sink and drawing-room drama, questioning to what extent the play conforms to or disrupts these models, while providing a snapshot of 1950s Britain and the play's ambiguous ending.

Series: Student Editions

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350443662

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 August 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Edition: 4th edition

Contributors:

  • Volume editor Hannah Simpson

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 129g

Pages: 136

Collections

Children’s, Teenage and Educational Education & Reference Non-Fiction Series: Student Editions Shelagh Delaney

About the Author

Shelagh Delaney (1938 - 2011) was born in Salford, Lancashire, in 1938. She is most well-known for A Taste of Honey (1958), for which she won the Foyle's New Play Award and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. She wrote the screenplay for the film version with Tony Richardson and received the British Film Academy Award and the Robert Flaherty Award. Her other screenplays include The White Bus and Charley Bubbles, for which she won the Writers' Guild Award. She also wrote for television and radio and published a collection of short stories. She died in 2011.

Hannah Simpson is Lecturer in Drama and Performance in the English Faculty at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She is the author of Samuel Beckett and the Theatre of the Witness: Pain in Post-War Francophone Drama (2022) and Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance (2022). She has edited special issues for Twentieth Century Literature, Medical Humanities and the Journal of War and Culture Studies, and is co-editor of the Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Disability book series.

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