Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was arguably the greatest American playwright of the twentieth century. His most famous work for the stage includes Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, All My Sons and A View from the Bridge. Six volumes of his plays and a volume of his theatre essays are published by Methuen Drama.Claire Conceison is Quanta Professor of Chinese Culture and Professor of Theater Arts at MIT. She is a scholar, translator, and director. Her publications include the books Significant Other: Staging the American in China (2004); Ying Ruocheng’s autobiography Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage During China's Revolution and Reform (2009); the anthology I Love XXX and Other Plays by Meng Jinghui (2017); and the introduction to ‘Death of a Salesman’ in Beijing (2015), a new edition of Arthur Miller’s 1984 book ‘Salesman’ in Beijing. She is a contributor to the volume Arthur Miller for the Twenty-First Century (2020).Susan C. W. Abbotson (series editor) is Professor of Dramatic Literature at Rhode Island College, USA.

[The book has] extensive but not daunting information under headings such as Historical and Social Context, Genres and Themes and Performance History, among other aspects. It’s clearly and accessibly written.

• ChronologyIntroductionHistorical, Social and Cultural ContextsGenre and ThemesPlay as PerformanceProduction HistoryAcademic DebateBehind the scenes – Excerpts from interview with Chinese actor/translator Ying Ruocheng about working with Miller in Beijing in 1983Further StudyDeath of a SalesmanNotes