Other editions of book Murder in the Cathedral, Book Cover May Vary

T. S. Eliot's verse dramatization of the murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature The Archbishop Thomas Becket speaks fatal words before he is martyred in T. S. Eliot's best-known drama, based on the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. Praised for its poetically masterful handling of issues of faith, politics, and the common good, T. S. Eliot's play bolstered his reputation as the most significant poet of his time.

The verse dramatization of the medieval murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury by the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Archbishop Thomas Becket speaks fatal words before he is martyred in T. S. Eliot’s best-known drama, based on the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. Praised for its poetically masterful handling of issues of faith, politics, and the common good, T. S. Eliot’s play bolstered his reputation as the most significant poet of his time. It has been performed on stage, film, and television since 1935 and was the basis for the opera Assassinio nella Cattedrale by the Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti.

T. S. Eliots Murder in the Cathedral is both a fascinating retelling of the twelfth-century assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket and a compelling call for resistance in the face of intimidation. Written against the backdrop of rising Fascism in twentieth-century Europe, Eliots classic verse play is as relevant now as it ever was. This re-release of the original 1953 recording stars Robert Donat whose commanding performance as the Archbishop, alongside a full cast, is widely celebrated.

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1935. First U.S. Edition. Octavo, 86 pp. . Black cloth, gilt spine imprinting, jacket. Fine, sparkling book in a very good jacket showing edgewear and some age darkening, notably at spine. Gallup A29f. Eliot's play, the story of Thomas a Becket, in which a man of God stands as a spiritual beacon against the darkness of a despotic temporal power, was actually banned in Romania under the Ceausescu régime. Generally well regarded - for a play by a poet - it reflects Eliot's philosophical bent while respectfully dallying with dramatic forms of much earlier eras, and in so doing makes the choice of an overused historical vehicle more palatable. Handsome copy. L6

A dramatization in verse of the murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. “The theatre as well as the church is enriched by this poetic play of grave beauty and momentous decision” (New York Times). “Within its limits the play is a masterpiece.... Mr. Eliot has written no better poem than this and none which seems simpler” (Mark Van Doren, The Nation).