Sleuth: A Play
by Anthony Shaffer
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Description
"The ultimate game of cat-and-mouse is played out in a cozy English country house owned by celebrated mystery writer, Andrew Wyke. Invited guest Milo Tindle, a young rival who shares not only Wyke's love of the game but also his wife, has come to lay claim. Revenge is devised and murders plotted as the two plan the ultimate whodunnit."--Publisher's description.Tags
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Member Reviews
Perhaps I do suffer from POP syndrome (see the preceding review) because I read this play after thoroughly enjoying a performance of it at our local theatre. The dialogue is so intelligent and the plot twists so intricate that I wanted to see the words...savour it at my own pace. I was not disappointed. A wonderful read about ego, insecurities, jealousy....a great examination of character and a story that will keep you on your toes.
Classic two-act whodunit that examines the kind of people who write and/or read two-act whodunits.
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Edgar Award
418 works; 15 members
Every Non-Musical Play Nominated for a Tony Award
64 works; 3 members
Next Plays / 2025
352 works; 1 member
Author Information
19+ Works 1,293 Members
Anthony Joshua Shaffer was born in Liverpool, England on May 15, 1926. He received a degree in law from Cambridge University in 1950. From 1951 to 1957, he practiced law in London and wrote three novels his fraternal twin Peter Shaffer including How Doth the Little Crocodile? under the joint pseudonym Peter Anthony. Anthony Shaffer then worked in show more advertising before setting up his own television production company and eventually turning to writing full time. His best known play Sleuth ran for more than 2,300 performances in London's West End and more than 2,000 on Broadway. It won a Tony Award as the best play of 1970 and became a film in 1972 starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. His other plays included The Savage Parade, Murderer, and The Case of the Oily Levantine, which came to Broadway in 1982 as Whodunnit. He also wrote film scripts for Frenzy, The Wicker Man, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, and Evil Under the Sun. He wrote an autobiography entitled So What Did You Expect? He died on November 6, 2001 at the age of 75. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Sleuth: A Play
- Original publication date
- First produced, 1970.; First published, 1977.
- Related movies
- Sleuth (1972 | IMDb); Sleuth (2007 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- TO Father Brown, Mr. Philip Trent, Mr. Max Carrados, Dr. Reginald Fortune, Mr. Roger Sheringham, Mr. Albert Campion, Mr. Nigel Strangways, Lord Peter Wimsey, Dr. Gideon Fell, Monsieur Hercule Poirot, and all their omniscient,... (show all) eccentric, amateur gentlemen colleagues, this play is dedicated with sincere regard and affction.
- First words
- The living room of Andrew Wyke's Norman Manor House in Wiltshire, England.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)ANDREW: You’re a bad liar, Milo, and in the final analysis, an uninventive games-player. Can you hear me? Then listen to this, NEVER play the same game three times running!
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 205
- Popularity
- 158,883
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.14)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 9
