Arden on file /

This new series might perhaps be more aptly titled ``Modern Dramatists on File.'' It joins Methuen's ``Modern Plays,'' ``Theatrescripts,'' and ``New Theatrescripts'' as another important series of books on modern theater. The series editor is Simon Trussler, noted critic, editor, and scholar of modern drama. The intent of the series is to ``assemble essential facts and to make vital but elusive material readily available.'' The format of each volume is uniform: a chronology of the dramatist's life and works; a comprehensive checklist of all plays, including a synopsis, performance, and publication history with excerpts from reviews; selected comments by the dramatist on his work; and, finally, a bibliography of the dramatic and nondramatic works and selected commentary on them. The credentials of the compilers, editors, and publisher, the concise and uniform format, the balance between presentation of facts and critical opinion, and the sophisticated plot synopses combine to make these good undergraduate introductions to these playwrights. More comprehensive than the ``Writers & Their Works'' series, Writers on File also contains plot synopses (often excerpted from reviews) not found in Contemporary Dramatists (v.1, 1972) or the companion sets Contemporary Authors (CH, Dec '73) and Contemporary Literary Criticism (CH, Oct '73). Recommended for modern drama collections in both public and academic libraries.-E.J. Carpenter, Oberlin College