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Royall Tyler
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The Contrast Kindle Edition

by Royall Tyler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
Previous page
  1. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  2. Publication date
    May 12, 2012
  3. Language
    English
  4. File size
    175 KB
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0082Z25B2
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 12, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 175 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 85 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1482775549
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

About the author

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Royall Tyler

Royall Tyler

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I retired from the Australian National University in 2000. For twenty years my wife and I bred alpacas on our farm in New South Wales. Although we sold our main herd in 2013, we still have a few beautiful brown, grey, or black alpacas, and we still live on our farm. In summer we often see blue-tongue skinks: a fairly big, slow lizard that really does have a blue tongue. Sometimes one turns up at my study window, asking to come in.

In the meantime, since 2012 I've been self-publishing books with CreateSpace. By April 2016 there were five. Now, in May 2016, there are seven. So I've bought my own ISBNs and moved to my own imprint: Blue-Tongue Books. I've re-published the earlier, CreateSpace books under the Blue-Tongue imprint, and of course the two new ones start out with it. Perhaps in time there will be one or two more, or perhaps not.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mikey
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great read!
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Laura Crockett
3.0 out of 5 stars The First American Play
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2014
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If you would really like to know what sets United States Americans apart from their European roots, here's a must read book. Tyler's comedy was written expressly to portray the differences. This is not a political story. It's philosophical. It's romantic. To the point, Tyler uses a romance to illustrate how we would live differently than our forefathers and mothers across the seas.

Before the American Revolution, the colonists were already living a life that was distinct from their relatives back in the Old World. First off, it takes a strong will to immigrate to a New World. Meaning that the American Colonies were filled with personalities that had a strong streak of individualism. That is the type of person who leaves their home and extended family behind to try his or her luck someplace else. Back before there was an entitlement system, it took much courage to leave all that one knew behind and go to a place that was not civilized in the European or Asian sense. America was primitive, meaning, a place without roads, established towns and cities. There was no way to earn a living. The first arrivals died off by the dozens and then hundreds. Unless one has been stranded on a deserted island, it is difficult for a modern to comprehend just how hard life was in the colonies.

After 150 years, the colonists decide to go it alone. The strong individualist multiplied by the hundreds means an area of successful people who had carved out a strong, steady existence for themselves. Fortunes had been made, but more importantly, the middle class was strong and successful. There was work aplenty for everyone. Farms were prosperous, towns thrived and grew. Marriage was determined by the individuals, that is, a man courted without being setup by his parents. A woman decided on her own terms who she would marry. This does not mean that a man or woman didn't look to someone's character in deciding their marriage fate. It's what Tyler is talking about through his characters in this play.

The old European model of marriage was based on property and companionship. The American model was based on companionship and property. Since marriage was a forever status, it was of extreme importance that a man and woman viewed the other with eyes wide open. What was the character of the individual? What would each bring to the marriage? The differences of male and female were acknowledged, but no woman was expected to sit at home to be a housewife as we know the term. Everyone, and I do mean all people from about the age of six and up, worked. It wasn't until the 19th century that women were thrown into the luxury of not having to work at something. That was, however, for city women only. Farm women have always worked. Therefore, it was important to be healthy, physically and mentally.

Spiritual health was also taken into consideration. In America, there is no established church. A man and woman must peer into their prospective mate's heart as well. It's a tall order. It's a new order, a new way of looking at romance and marriage and the process of going through courtship.

The Contrast is set up like any play of the 18th century, with a Prologue followed by five acts. The two main characters are Col. Manly and Maria. The "contrast" is laid out by two female characters, Charlotte and Letitia. Their dialogue in the beginning is insightful to the era in which they lived. The year is 1790, to be exact. The language is easily understood, not as formal as one might think. After all, this is an American play by an American author.

To read The Contrast is to place yourself in a time machine, to go back into the minds of the original citizens of the United States of America. They were different. We still are. The US of A is different for a reason and this play will help you understand why. Enjoy.
3 people found this helpful
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Christine
4.0 out of 5 stars the author deserved more attention
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2014
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If you enjoy reading 18thc works then you should like this play (I'm an 18thc bookworm); it's fast reading, the dialogue is witty without overdoing it, and there's not a lot of stage directions and descriptions which can be really annoying when you just want to read the story.

It's too bad that Royall Tyler's works weren't appreciated enough back in his day. For that matter, neither was he. John and Abigail Adams rejected him as a worthy husband for their daughter, much preferring William Smith. Were they ever WRONG!
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