Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN
  1. Books
  2. Fiction
  3. Contemporary fiction

Read and listen for free for 30 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
0.0(0)

The Playboy of the Western World

On a quiet autumn evening, the inhabitants of Flaherty’s ramshackle pub are interrupted by the arrival of Christy Mahon, a fugitive claiming to have murdered his father. Enamoured by his story, the whole village soon find themselves toasting Christy as a hero, whilst Flaherty’s daughter Pegeen falls in love with his roguish charm. However, an unexpected arrival from Christy’s past threatens to collapse his newfound fame.

J.M. Synge’s ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ (1907) is a hilarious three-act play that honours the Irish lyrical speech. A highly controversial play of its time, riots formed on the opening night of the play to protest what they saw as offensive content that mocked the Irish. As Synge’s most popular play it has had numerous adaptations on stage and screen. The play is riveting, with central character Christy Mahon playing like a cross between ‘Harry Potter’s’ Gilderoy Lockhart and Jim Carrey’s Truman from ‘The Truman Show’. For any fans of comedy, or for those who are looking to understand more about the beauty of the Irish dialect, ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ is a must read!

Edmund John Millington Synge (1871 – 1909) was an Irish poet, playwright, and a defining figure of the Irish Literary Revival. Born in County Dublin to upper-middle-class Protestants and suffered from Hodgkin’s disease which led to his home-schooling. Soon after graduating from Trinity College Dublin, Synge became a renowned poet and playwright, but his success was short-lived as he passed away from cancer at 37. He is best remembered for his play ‘The Playboy of the Western World’, an incredibly controversial work at the time of its publication and performance. Regarded by Yeats as ‘the greatest dramatic genius of Ireland’, Synge has held a lasting legacy, being a key influence for acclaimed Irish playwright Samuel Beckett and the subject of Joseph O’Connor’s novel ‘Ghost Light’ (2010).


Author:

  • John Millington Synge

Format:

  • E-book

Duration:

  • 58 pages

Language:

English

Categories:

  • Fiction
  • Contemporary fiction
  • Fiction
  • Comedic fiction
  • Drama
  • Contemporary drama

More by John Millington Synge

Skip the list
  1. The Tinker's Wedding

    John Millington Synge

    book
  2. The Aran Islands

    John Millington Synge

    book
  3. The Well of the Saints

    John Millington Synge

    book
  4. In Wicklow and West Kerry

    John Millington Synge

    book

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. The Playboy of the Western World

    J. M. Synge

    book
  2. Watership Down : A Novel

    Richard Adams

    book
  3. The Playboy of the Western World

    J. M. Synge

    book
  4. The Woman in White

    Wilkie Collins

    audiobookbook
  5. New South African Plays

    Beverley Naidoo, Sibusiso Mamba, Mike Van Graan, James Whylie, Rehane Abrahams, Ashwin Singh

    book
  6. The Woman in White

    Wilkie Collins

    audiobookbook
  7. Woman of the Ashes

    Mia Couto

    audiobook
  8. B. J. Harrison Reads The Phantom of the Opera

    Gaston Leroux

    audiobook
  9. To the Lighthouse

    Virginia Woolf

    audiobookbook
  10. Magpie Murders : A Novel

    Anthony Horowitz

    audiobook
  11. Great Expectations

    Charles Dickens

    audiobookbook
  12. De vervlogen helft

    Brit Bennett

    audiobookbook

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5