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    The History Boys: A Play
    The History Boys: A Play
    The History Boys: A Play
    Ebook138 pages1 hour

    The History Boys: A Play

    By Alan Bennett

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    "A play of depth as well as dazzle, intensely moving as well as thought-provoking and funny." —The Daily Telegraph

    In The History Boys, Alan Bennett evokes the special period and place that the sixth form represents in an English boy's life. In doing so, he raises—with gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character—not only universal questions about the nature of history and how it is taught but also questions about the purpose of education today.

    An unruly bunch of bright, funny sixth-form (or senior) boys in a British boys' school are, as such boys will be, in pursuit of sex, sport, and a place at a good university, generally in that order. In all their efforts, they are helped and hindered, enlightened and bemused, by a maverick English teacher who seeks to broaden their horizons in sometimes undefined ways, and a young history teacher who questions the methods, as well as the aim, of their schooling.

    Winner of six Tony Awards, The History Boys was also made into a movie of the same name in 2006.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateApr 4, 2006
    ISBN9781429921664
    The History Boys: A Play
    Author

    Alan Bennett

    Alan Bennett has been one of England's leading dramatists since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s. His work includes the Talking Heads television series, and the stage plays Forty Years On, The Lady in the Van, A Question of Attribution, and The Madness of King George III. His play, The History Boys (now a major motion picture), won six Tony Awards, including best play, in 2006. In the same year his memoir, Untold Stories, was a number-one bestseller in the United Kingdom.

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    Reviews for The History Boys

    4/5

    205 ratings19 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Wonderfully written, thought-provoking read.
    • 4/5
      I read the book after re-watching the film version, and must say that I found the screenplay to be much tighter in terms of narrative flow and continuity. The themes seemed to be more clearly delineated -- Hector is the center of the film version in a way that he appears more muted in the play. Posner in the film is more fully realized, too, and the relationship between Dakin and Irwin is easier to see than to read although I'm not sure how much I liked the actor's work who played Irwin. A thought-provoking read but an even better viewing opportunity for those who choose to see the film.
    • 3/5
      This short play is about a group of boys applying to university and the three teachers who are trying to help them.
    • 5/5
      :
    • 4/5
      Excellent narrative - fun read.
    • 5/5
      well
    • 3/5
      An intersting play about coming-of-age, but lacks the coherence and direction of some of the terrific plays I've been reading.
    • 5/5
      "The best moments in reading are when you come across something — a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things — that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out and taken yours." - Hector.

      When Posner reaches out to grasp Hector's hand... That's everything.
    • 5/5
      Douglas Hector is an English teacher at an English grammar school helping sixth form boys get into Oxford or Cambridge Universities. He gropes the boys when he gives them a ride on his motorbike.
    • 5/5
      I loved this play when I saw it in NYC so on my way out of the theater, I fished some change out of my pocket and bought it right there. Not my most money-wise moment but I was hungry for some good reading.

      Reading the play was even better since I was able to catch things I'd missed when I first saw it on stage. It isn't exactly the most economical play with somewhere around 11 characters on stage, but I think the British have more money for theater. Lucky cats, they are.

      This is an excellent play, with every word being weighed and measured.
    • 5/5
      The perfect encapsulation of the joy, the value and the importance of education for all.
    • 5/5
      I like reading Tony award-winning plays, and The History Boys won a Tony for best play. I was very excited to read it as a result.There was a lot of really good stuff to chew on throughout the play. The dialogue was fast-moving, and there were few, if any stage directions. The teacher characters were pretty well-developed, I think, but some of the boys remained very shallow, I felt.One thing I will say about this play is that it is one that really suffered from just reading rather than being seen. Many times, I can read plays and get a lot out of them without seeing them. Throughout The History Boys I felt like I was missing something important because I was only reading the play. That was disappointing for me, because I felt like it was untold depths that I was missing.Don't get me wrong; I did enjoy reading it, and it was a very quick read as well. But I definitely want to see a production of it. Oh, and I need to learn French to appreciate the first few pages as well!The introduction by the author is very thorough and brings out some moments that might otherwise be glazed over in the reading. These moments are ones that came directly from the author's life. At first, I just skimmed the intro, but then after I was a few pages in, I actually read it in depth. It helped frame the play for me.Like I said, I will definitely be looking for some kind of visual medium to see this play in action, because just the page wasn't enough for me. That's not the author's fault, though - plays were meant to be seen!
    • 4/5
      I bought the movie version of 'The History Boys' years ago - I think I was at uni, so it was probably when it first came out on DVD - but I barely remember a thing about it. In case you haven't come across it before, it's basically a play about eight boys trying to get into Oxford and Cambridge, under the watchful eyes of old romantic Hector and young tutor Irwin. Anyway, I DO remember chuckling away at the boys' cheek, and Richard Griffiths being wonderful, so when I heard that he'd passed away recently it seemed like revisiting it would be a fitting tribute. This time I hit the library and got hold of a copy of the script first, hoping that I'd maybe catch some of the wordplay and nuances better that way!The first thing I have to say about this book is that I really enjoyed Alan Bennett's introduction. Obviously the point of a play is to be watched, and reading the script isn't for everyone, but a good introduction is always a valuable addition to the experience, as far as I'm concerned. Bennett's is wryly amusing and very interesting, particularly for someone younger, like me, who tripped into higher education in the noughties when the whole process and meaning was rather different. It explains the play's firm roots in Bennett's own journey through the education system, and points out little elements of various characters that come from the playwright's life and the people he knew. It was nice having that context in mind when I started reading!On to the play itself... I thought it was wonderful! As with so much of Bennett's work, it managed to combine provocative thought and deep themes with giggle-aloud humour and irresistable literary eloquence. Although several of the boys took a while to straighten out in my mind, the majority of the characters (both students and teachers) are larger than life and so utterly real that I felt like I was sitting in that classroom listening to the banter and the ribbing, rather than reading a script. And it's so FUNNY! I'm sure we all remember certain people - boys, in particular - who lit up a classroom with their sense of humour, were often a bit racy or pushed their luck on occasion, but who charmed everyone including the teachers. These boys are like that, and it made reading the script such a delight!In between the hilarity, there are also some really interesting points and discussions about education and history. Irwin's introduction of original thought by asking the boys to turn questions and concepts upside down and attack them head-on taught me more about critical thinking than I ever learned at school; if I'd read this before university my essays might have been much better! The tension between Hector and Irwin, between educational styles and purposes, between jumping through hoops and being deliberately provocative, all mixed together into one big discussion of what elements of education are more important - and indeed, whether the mad push to get to university is worth it at all. What I particularly liked was the way the very moving ending suggested how meaningless much of the boys' education really was, yet the memories of Hector and Irwin and the underlying lessons they taught still stood firm. I've found that to be quite true in my own life, and it felt like a fitting conclusion. Highly recommended - now, I'd better go and dig out that DVD again!
    • 5/5
      This play is fabulous. Completely unrealistic, but funny nonetheless. The boys are well drawn and seeing it performed is a wonderfully funny experience. The boys are all highly articulate and there is an air of high camp that pervades everything. The boys are torn between two opposing schools of educational thought as they try to get into university. their teachers war over method, but the students come through strongly regardless.
    • 4/5
      Read this in conjunction with seeing the movie. I think the cuts made may have actually been for the better -- the film seemed a bit subtler, less obvious in its "message". There is a great deal to love about this work -- the language, the setting, the characters -- but I take issue with its old-fogeyish suspicion of postmodernism.
    • 4/5
      Greatly enjoyed the movie, and the play is even better. Also found Alan Bennett's introduction interesting.
    • 5/5
      I can associate with nearly every single factor in the History Boys film. It is set in my home town; it is about the direction to be followed at this time of my life; it is about history students; it is about change. The book is not different. Apart from the fact it is better. The writing, whilst having a relatively narrow range of style for the different characters shines and the work comes into it's own. A brilliant book, and a brilliant story that I'm sure everyone can equate to in some way or another. Easy to read, easy to understand, and yet about something so confusing. A book the be savoured and re-read time and time again. Pass it on!
    • 5/5
      I missed seeing a performance of The History Boys in Nottingham by the slimmest of possibilities last month (had to cover a late shift at the last minute because a colleague was stricken with a weird mosquito carried bug that’s currently plaguing India, and we had failed to get a locum in time), and I was gutted. Bennett’s most recent play, which debuted in 2004, has gathered huge critical acclaim, commercial success and awards to its name, and I’d have loved to have seen it performed before I read it. However, I finally caved in and bought the script. There’s a film version, with the original cast, due along this week, so it looks as if I’ll experience it in two other media before seeing it performed live now.In the preface, Bennett describes how the play came to be written, and illuminates part of it with a slight autobiographical element, telling of his own experiences with getting into Oxbridge.The play itself is grand - a look at education and what it’s for; at history and how we perceive it; and at how teachers affect those in their charge and vice versa. The plot is simple; eight sixth-formers in a modern grammar school in Sheffield in Thatcher’s 80s are in preparation to take Oxbridge entrance exams (for it will reflect well on the school). Their teaching has been in the care of Hector, a relatively unorthodox English teacher nearing retirement age; the Headmaster, fearful that Hector’s style of teaching will not produce the results he craves, introduces a new young History teacher, Irwin, to try and improve the odds. Hector believes in learning simply for the sake of it; Irwin that knowledge is simply a tool to achieve the best you can for yourself, and has no real intrinsic value – so in this context, everything is not about what you know, it’s how best to twist it to make yourself stand out for the Oxbridge entrance vivas. Hector believes in the truth of knowledge; Irwin that it’s OK to present the facts to suit your needs. The clash between the two is is epitomised nowhere better than the scene where Irwin exhorts a Jewish lad to make use of that in answering a question on the Holocaust, to give a shock answer safe in the knowledge that he can’t be criticised because of his background, while Hector simply looks on aghast.Hector is not without his sins however; he’s prone to fondling the boys when he gives them lifts home on his motorbike, something for which they seem to pity him rather than fear him. Bennett raises questions relating to this but doesn’t really address it full on (in interview Richard Griffiths, who I can already imagine playing Hector to perfection, has pointed out that the boys are all over 18, which makes it not-quite-paedophilia-but-also-very-clearly-not-right, and that it never goes further than a sly grope – but it clearly plays into Bennett’s themes of relations between teachers and pupils, and what is owed, and where boundaries should be)Bennett’s skill has always been an ability to write realistic, perceptive and funny dialogue, and this is a fine example of him at its best. There are more than a few laugh out loud moments from the script (I suspect the French brothel scene will be even better when seen acted out) , and the themes behind it all are powerfully conveyed.It’s a play that deserves to be quoted from often in the future, and I expect it will be. Irwin gets a speech to start the second act which stuck in my mind for a while.
    • 5/5
      The award-winning play by Alan Bennett is a great read. More devoted to the influence of words (the "dictionary" boy role of Posner) and music than the later screenplay, the play emphasizes the differing perspectives on education of the two lead teachers (Hector and Irwin). Without the need to "open up" demanded by film Bennett focuses on the schoolroom and uses subtle effects to effect his dramatic purpose. In doing so he is successful in creating a delightful dramatic and comedic portrayal of ideas, all while evoking the spirit of bright young scholars at a key turning point in their lives.

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    The History Boys - Alan Bennett

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