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Hay Fever
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781025351360
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 70
Weight: 0.24
Height: 0.15 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Hay Fever is a quintessential comedy of manners and one of the most celebrated works by the legendary playwright Noel Coward. Set in an English country house during the 1920s, the play centers on the Bliss family-an eccentric and intensely self-absorbed household consisting of a retired stage actress, her novelist husband, and their two high-spirited adult children. The plot unfolds over a single weekend when each member of the family, unbeknownst to the others, invites a guest to stay at their home in Cookham.
As the weekend progresses, the unsuspecting guests are subjected to the family's melodramatic whims, competitive behavior, and complete disregard for social norms. The Blisses treat their visitors as mere props in their own personal dramas, leading to a series of hilariously uncomfortable encounters and misunderstood flirtations. Coward's sharp wit and mastery of sophisticated dialogue shine throughout this biting satire of bohemian life and upper-middle-class artifice.
Since its debut, Hay Fever has remained a staple of the international stage, prized for its impeccable comedic timing and its enduringly funny portrayal of family dysfunction and social pretension. It continues to be recognized as a masterclass in 20th-century comedic playwriting.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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