Critiques en avant-première

The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage presents three ingenious short novellas exploring the dual notions of love and betrayal from the author of Faust. The ‘madwoman’ of the title is highly sought after – so much so that one man’s passion for her is shared, inconveniently, by his son, as both declare themselves her suitors. Her ‘pilgrimage’ is to relinquish their hold on her, which she does by implying a certain – rather indelicate – state of affairs. Her ploy works, and the resultant chaos and confusion for father and son create a brilliantly comic ending. The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage is accompanied by ‘Who is the Traitor?’, in which a man’s nocturnal monologues reveal rather more than he would wish, and ‘Not too Far!’, in which heightened passions jeopardise a genteel birthday party.