Feydeau Plays: One: Heart's Desire Hotel, Sauce for the Goose, The One That Got Away, Now You See It, and Pig in a Poke (World Classics) (Vol 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)The description by Amazon is excellent.
Feydeau was a master of theatre, not only vaudeville (all of his plays) as the genre is called in France (not the same thing as american vaudeville).
The plays have more depth than modern farces by Ray Cooney.
It is more than farce, and it is certainly not, as french critics and directors like to say an ensemble of mechanical plots, with
farcical predictable characters.
One of the usual tricks, but expected, like a well known story must be enjoyed, is to have the character threatened by disclosure of an awkward action, see the entrance of a character who is supposed to be faraway, bedridden, unknown by the wife...
Adultery is not the aim of some characters in all the plays (for instance the Lady from Maxim's, the longest one, three hours performance). Feydeau is well known for his precise stage instructions, including the companies from which to rent or buy he props.
The plotting is worthy of a "who done it?" mystery.
Lies, misunderstandings are not just plot tricks. We find them in the great Marivaux.
Feydeau was also a master of the language and we can read the plays with equal pleasure, if not a greater pleasure. The translations are excellent.
Some of his one act plays are pure gems (no question of bedrooms)
In fact he is a master of french litterature as a whole, only surpassed in his domain, earlier by Labiche and Gondinet, and followed by Sacha Guitry (with his dreary historical lays), Jacque Deval and Louis Verneuil, and lesser but good writers
The vaudeville is stll alive as "théâtre de boulevard". Long may he live!
For the time being, enjoy!

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Georges Feydeau (1862-1921) was the most successful French dramatist of the belle époque and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest of farce-writers. His series of dazzling hits matched high-speed action and dialogue with ingenious plotting. Reaching the heights of farcical lunacy, his plays nevertheless contain touches of barbed social commentary and allowed him to mention subjects that would have provoked outrage in the hands of more serious dramatists. This volume of new, sparkling translations by Kenneth McLeish contains his two masterpieces, Heart's Desire Hotel and Sauce for the Goose, with three other plays from the peak of his career, The One That Got Away, Now You See It, and Pig in a Poke.

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Death with Reservations (Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have read all the Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries having stumbled across them in the library. They are delightful - like a good cream cake and hot cup of tea in the local tea shoppe. Ms. Kingsbury depicts her characters in such a way as to make the reader truly care or revile them - my favorite to revile being the Vicar, who is hopeless. The local constabulary is also without lightbulbs. I hope to see Cecily & Baxter marry eventually. And I hope to see that poor maid with the twins go to Scotland and finally find some happiness. I reccommend these books highly!

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The doctor claims food poisoning killed Pennyfoot guest Lord Sittingdon. But Cecily finds this hard to believe. Now she'll have to do some investigating of her own--before murder becomes the daily special.

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Ring for Tomb Service (Pennyfoot Hotel Mysteries) Review

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(More customer reviews)Finally, the most recent installment of Kate Kingsbury's "Pennyfoot Hotel" series is out. Those of us who have been following the series have been waiting anxiously for this one, wondering what will happen next. Will Baxter come back? Will he ever sit down in Cecily's presence? Indeed, does he even have a first name?
The one possible flaw in this book is that too much time is spent teasing the reader about what will happen between Cecily Sinclair, the owner of the Pennyfoot Hotel and Baxter, her former manager. But, and let's be realistic, isn't that why some of us were so antsy waiting for the release of this book? Several other old characters return in this book as well. While I did enjoy this book a great deal, it seemed to me that this book mainly was to rearrange the players and set the stage for the next book. But that is OK. It is still a good book and sometimes a rearrangement is neccesary. This is a wonderful book to take in a hot bath after a stressful day. I couldn't stop smiling after I read it. I highly reccomend this book, and the whole series in fact. Good, light, fun reading. Fans of light mysteries will definitely enjoy this one.

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Kept busy by her duties as Pennyfoot Hotel's owner when the London aristocracy flocks to the seaside festivities of St. Bartholemew's Week, Cecily Sinclair finds an additional challenge when murder visits Badger's End.

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Historical Paradors: A Journey Through Spanish Hotels Review

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(More customer reviews)About 80% beautiful photos and 20% useful information, Historical Paradors : A Journey Through Spanish Hotels shows a side of beautiful Spain that most tourists never see. The photos of these stunning architectural wonders stir the imagination of the Old World and makes me twitch towards planning my next trip to Spain. This book is DEFINITELY coffee-table caliber!!! And if MadridMan of MadridMan.com likes it, it's GOT to be gooooood!

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Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Controls for Hotels and Restaurants Review

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(More customer reviews)A Reliable, pragmatic book, great for students and for all those who like to see it clear, with real life examples, great tips and all that is needed to get a good glimps into the hospitality business. Easy to read and nicely organised.

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Gain the financial management skills you need to succeed, as a hospitality professional.Cost monitoring and cost control are indispensable components of the successful foodservice and hospitality manager's skill set. Through five editions, this book has been preparing students to enter the work force by helping them to develop these crucial financial management skills. Continuing this tradition of excellence, the Sixth Edition contains all of the features that have made Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Controls the standard text on the subject, including: * Explanations of terms, concepts, and procedures. * Step-by-step descriptions of tools and techniques used to control costs. * A unique modular format, with each component covered in its own section. * Numerous skill-building problems, exercises, and projects.The book begins with a general introduction to key terms and concepts, as well as basic procedures for analyzing cost/volume/profit, determining costs, and using cost to monitor foodservice and beverage operations. The next two sections, "Food Control" and "Beverage Control," outline a four-step process for controlling each of the primary phases of a foodservice or beverage operation--purchasing, receiving, storing, issuing, and production--with specific techniques for each phase. The final section focuses on labor cost controls, and includes expert advice and guidance on setting performance standards, monitoring performance, and taking corrective action. Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Controls, Sixth Edition equips culinary and hospitality management students with the knowledge and skills they need to perform one of the most important aspects of their jobs.PAUL R. DITTMER is Associate Professor in the Department of Hospitality Management at New Hampshire College in Manchester, New Hampshire. The late GERALD G. GRIFFIN was a faculty member at the New York City Technical College of The City University of New York.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Hotel of the Saints Review

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(More customer reviews)One morning a little over a month ago, with too much loose change in my pocket and a desire to read something new, I spotted this brightly coloured book in the book shelf of the UN. I picked it up, had never heard of the author, but the title was evocative and as i said, the cover was lovely. And what a lovely book it turned out to be. The author has a beautiful calm and engaging style of prose and captures the reader in the extraordinariness of the ordinariness of which these stories are founded. From stories dealing with domestic abuse, to suicide, to the end of love- this collection creates a palette of characters whose names escape you as you turn the page but whose vision which you have concocted in your head-haunts you and stays with you. For me one of the best stories was suprisingly 'A woman's perfume' which is as much a coming of age story for a young girl, than it is the lost dreams of adulthood.
The final story 'Lowers crossing' is heartfelt and compassionate, 'Stolen chocolates' is for me about beauty and acceptance and the two stories 'the doves' and 'for their own survival' have similar themes of freedom. It is a wonderful collection and I feel I have allowed myself to be introduced to another author who I anticipate will inhabit my bookshelf for years to come.

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A to Z Mysteries Boxed Set, Books A to H: The Absent Author, The Bald Bandit, The Canary Caper, The Deadly Dungeon, The Empty Envelope, The Falcon's Feathers, The Goose's Gold, and The Haunted Hotel Review

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(More customer reviews)My 10-yr. old son is not a big reader, but A-Z Mysteries keep him interested. And better yet, he scores 90% or higher on AR tests which means his comprehension is high. This is the best part.

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Includes The Absent Author, The Bald Bandit, The Canary Caper, The Deadly Dungeon, The Empty Envelope, The Falcon's Feathers, The Goose's Gold, and The Haunted Hotel.

Click here for more information about A to Z Mysteries Boxed Set, Books A to H: The Absent Author, The Bald Bandit, The Canary Caper, The Deadly Dungeon, The Empty Envelope, The Falcon's Feathers, The Goose's Gold, and The Haunted Hotel