The volume traces the scope and development of Caryl Churchill's theatre from her early writing for radio and television, through her stage career of the 1970s and 1980s to her recent major success Far Away (2000). Making use of contemporary critical and feminist theory, the study offers closedramatic and theatrical readings of the plays highlighting Churchill's concerns with feminism, socialism and theatrical style. A key chapter on "The Woman Writer" examines those plays, including Cloud Nine and Top Girls, which brought Churchill to the attention of the international feminist theatreacademy, and links Churchill's emergent feminism to her personal struggle to combine a career in the theatre with motherhood. Detailing the international success of play such as Serious Money and Mad Forest, alongside some of the lesser known and lesser studied earlier work, this accessible accountillustrates how Churchill has come to be recognised as one of the leading playwrights of our contemporary theatre. | Caryl Churchill by Elaine Aston, Paperback | Indigo Chapters