Books › Arsenic and Old Lace
Arsenic and Old Lace
First published 1941 · 187 pages
A masterclass in escalating chaos where polite domesticity masks a hilariously high body count.
What it feels like
Reading this classic farce feels like watching a perfectly constructed clockwork toy spin wildly out of control. It begins with the comforting, doily-draped warmth of a vintage parlor room, only to yank the rug out with a delightfully macabre twist. The pace is relentlessly brisk, driven by slamming doors, near-misses, and snappy, deadpan dialogue that mines the absurdity of polite society for every ounce of its comedic worth. You sit in a mood of frantic, zany anticipation, waiting to see how the escalating web of secrets will finally snap. It is a masterclass in dramatic irony and physical comedy, perfect for anyone who loves their cozy domestic settings spiked with a heavy dose of dark, screwball humor.
- Mood
- zany
- cozy-yet-creepy
- frantic
- theatrical
- Tone
- macabre
- farcical
- deadpan
- witty
- absurd
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- family dysfunction · the absurdity of normalcy · hidden secrets · polite society's dark underbelly
- The writing
- The dialogue is snappy and relentlessly paced, relying on sharp comedic timing, dramatic irony, and deadpan delivery.
- The arc
- The reader is lured into a false sense of cozy domesticity before being swept up in a frantic, escalating spiral of hilarious panic.
- Who it's for
- Readers who delight in classic screwball comedies, vintage aesthetics, and the chaotic unraveling of polite society.
Content notes
- comedic murder
- poisoning
- mental illness and delusions
- body disposal
About the book
Although these words refer to Teddy Brewster in this hilarious play by Joseph Kesselring, they could have applied equally to most of the other members of the Brewster household. Teddy thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt, always "charging" upstairs when he is not in the basement digging "locks for the Panama Canal." His two elderly aunts, with whom he lives, also have their own bizarre secret, for which the hand-dug "locks" in the basement are employed to good effect.
Jonathan, Teddy's "disagreeable" brother, who disappeared many years ago, returns during the play with secrets of his own. With his face altered by plastic surgery, he is accompanied by Dr. Einstein, with whom he plans to set up an operating room in the house so the doctor can give new faces to criminals. The only normal person in the family is Mortimer, a drama critic who hates plays, engaged to marry Elaine, the innocent daughter of the minister next door. Mortimer is particularly upset by Jonathan's return--"the most detestable, vicious, venomous form of animal life I ever knew."
The frantic action, the ironies, the comic routines, and the dramatic surprises all center around two bodies, hidden at various times in the window seat of the living room, and the reactions to them by the various people within the household. The local police, friends of Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha, stop by to chat, have coffee, and protect these "sweet" old ladies, often at the worst possible moments, while Mortimer tries to decide what to do about his strange family and the bodies in the house.
Description from Open Library.
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