Overview
In 1920 the Pendragons gather for the first time in years at the
crumbling family mansion in Ohio where Matt Armitage lies dying. As his
daughter Dorothy, who can neither hear nor speak, provides a running
commentary which is heard only by the audience, her wild sister Jessie
chases their half brother John Rose from room to room and tries to
fathom what betrayal is behind her father's refusal to speak to her
mother. Uncle David, an eccentric poet, is back from scouring Europe for
a lost girl. John Rhys Pendragon, the journalist, broods over his
wife's death and the loss of his beloved daughter. Sister Lizzy bustles
around trying to feed everybody while enduring her own grief as Sarah,
the housekeeper, is being driven mad by the confusion. Trapped in the
labyrinth of a darkly cruel history, these people nevertheless love each
other and make each other laugh. Richly textured and intricately woven
through time and space, a funny and moving addition to the author's
series the Pendragon Plays.