Books published by publisher Samuel French

An announcement in the local paper states the time and place when a murder is to occur in Miss Blacklock's Victorian house. The victim is not one of the house's several occupants, but an unexpected and unknown visitor. What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death, a determined Inspector grimly following the twists and turns, and Miss Marple on hand to provide the final solution at some risk to herself in a dramatic confrontation just before the final curtain.

Drama John LoganCharacters: 5 male, 2 female Various sets. This compelling drama by the author of Never the Sinner begins just moments before the 1936 execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the German immigrant who was convicted of murdering the Lindbergh's baby. With prison guards doubling as other characters in flashback, Hauptmann tells his gripping story. "It is one of rising anti German sentiment in America, of rich versus poor, of the state versus the indivi

A teenager in a North Country town, Billy Fisher weaves a world of his own out of his day dreams. He is an incurable liar, idle and dishonest, and to escape from his dull job as an undertaker's clerk and his dreary domestic background he imagines himself in so many different situations that truth and fiction become hopelessly intermingled. His family is unable to understand or control him, though they realize that he is a good for nothing. The cast is completed by the three girls to whom he is simultaneously engaged. When he is given the chance to start a new life, he turns it down, preferring his dreams to reality.

It’s the half term holiday and George Kranky is looking forward to a break from school when a letter from Grandma arrives announcing that she is coming to visit — that very day! Soon she has taken over George’s bedroom and is making his life miserable with spiteful comments and demands for cups of tea and doses of medicine. George tries to make Grandma better by mixing a new type of medicine for her. Shaving foam, shampoo, lipstick, chilli powder and even brown paint all go into the mixture. The magic medicine makes Grandma grow and grow into a giant until she crashes through the farmhouse roof. Mum and Dad are flabbergasted, but before long Dad comes up with a plan to use the medicine to make giant farm animals — and a fortune for the Kranky family. It’s up to George to try to recreate his marvellous medicine, but first he needs to remember the ingredients, with a little help from the audience.“Nasty, naughty fun.” The Times“As evenings at the theatre go, you’ll be hard-pushed to find anything more entertaining than a night in the company of George Kranky and his eccentric farmer family. It’s fabulous family fun!” Cambridge News“You’ll love this excellent production that had us hooked from the minute we took our seats. Never have I seen so many children so enthralled!” Hull Daily Mail“David Wood’s sparkling new adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic gets the ear-splitting, roof-raising response it deserves … absolutely wicked and not just for the children.” Stage“ ... with a dollop of well-placed humour, a splash of obligatory audience participation and a drizzle of pure magic, George’s Marvellous Medicine forms the perfect concoction.” The Oxford Times

From the novel by Jane AustenAdapted by Michael Bloom6m, 6f, plus ensembleComedyPledging never to marry, the mischievous Emma Woodhouse is nevertheless the "matchmaker of Highbury." Her newest project, Harriet Smith, has already received a proposal, but Emma insists she marry the eligible vicar Mr. Elton, while, an older family friend, Mr. Knightly, warns her to give up matchmaking. When Emma discovers Mr. Elton is more interested in her, she is forced to fend him off and f

Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. As the weather turns and the group is cut off from the mainland, the bloodbath begins and one by one they are brutally murdered in accordance with the lines of a sinister nursery rhyme.In writing the stage version of her most successful and darkest novels during the Second World War, Agatha Christie responded to the mood of the times by introducing a more positive ending. The play was a smash hit in the West End and on Broadway. The alternate version of the play’s ending, drawn from the novel and using entirely Agatha Christie’s own words, is now available in this updated edition

Drama / 17m, 7f, extras / Bare Stage In an important publishing event, Samuel French, in cooperation with the Thornton Wilder estate is pleased to release the playwright's definitive version of Our Town. This edition of the play differs only slightly from previous acting editions, yet it presents the version of Our Town as Thornton Wilder wished it performed. Described by Edward Albee as "...the greatest American play ever written," the story follows the small town of Grover's Corners through three acts: "Daily Life," "Love and Marriage," and "Death and Eternity." Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually-in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre-die. Thornton Wilder's final word on how he wanted his play performed is an invaluable addition to the American stage and to the libraries of theatre lovers internationally. "While all of Wilder's work is intelligent, non-synthetic and often moving, as well as funny, it is Our Town that makes the difference. It is probably the finest play ever written by an American." - Edward Albee "Thornton Wilder's masterpiece...An immortal tale of small town morality [and]...a classic of soft spoken theater." - The New York Times

A full length comedy for a cast of 5 men and 4 women. Winner of a special Tony Award and first performed in New York by Tom Ewell, Peggy Cass, Paul Ford and Alice Ghostley, these sketches of humorous scenes from American life include some of Thurber's most celebrated and insightful satires: The Night the Bed Fell, Gentlemen Shoppers, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the unforgettable File and Forget in which Thurber recounts his famous correspondence with various publishers who ship him books which he doesn't want and never ordered. A perfect evening of comedy. Scenes Include: ACT ONE Word Dance (Part One); The Night the Bed Fell; Fables for Our Time (Part One); The Wolf at the Door; The Unicorn in the Garden; The Little Girl and the Wolf; If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox; Casuals of the Keys; The Macbeth Murder Mystery; Gentleman Shoppers; The Last Flower. ACT TWO The Pet Department; File and Forget; Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife; Take Her Up Tenderly; The Secret Life of Walter Middy; Word Dance (Part Two). Only material authorized for the production of this play may be used

An assorted group of travelers are staying at a Jerusalem hotel: Lady Westholme and her companion, a young English doctor and her French colleague, a debonair American and a pugnacious Lancashireman. Another guest, Mrs. Boynton, is a domineering American invalid with four stepchildren whose facade of devotion masks enough hatred to murder her as could the doctor whose affection for Raymond Boynton is being obstructed by the old lady. When Mrs. Boynton is found dead, all are suspects even though