ERIC BENTLEY was born in England in 1916 and became an American citizen in 1948. He has earned a reputation as a scholar, teacher, professional theatre critic, performer, and a playwright.

"[Eric Bentley is] the most adventurous drama critic in America." —Kenneth Tynan

"Considerations of such great dramatists as Ibsen, Strindberg, Shaw, Brecht, Wagner, and O'Neill maintain Bentley's status as one of our most penetrating, informed, and delightful critics, gifted with a prose style that in its clarity and utter lack of condescension ought to be a standard for all other critics of drama, literature, or any other art." —Booklist