Librarians at Seattle Public Library curated a list of media to accompany our virtual event, Ghosts, a part of our Plays in Process series. Get ready for the presentation with these related books, films, and music.

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Ghosts: A Family Drama in Three Acts
by Ibsen, Henrik
Book - 1983
The script of Ghosts, for your reading pleasure.

Henrik Ibsen: The Man and the Mask
by Figueiredo, Ivo de
Book - 2019
Norwegian historian de Figueiredo has written an insightful, well-researched biography that highlights the contradictions between Ibsen’s conservative personal views and the often radical critique of society expressed in his plays.

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
Streaming Video - 2011
This streaming video from Elysium Films features a full production of Ghosts starring Liz Cassie as Mrs. Alving and Robert Cameron as Oswald Alving.

Lyric Pieces
by Grieg, Edvard
Music CD - 2015
What kind of music would the Alvings play in their parlor? Mostly likely piano works like these by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, Ibsen’s contemporary and collaborator who wrote the incidental music for Ibsen’s 1867 play Peer Gynt.

Henrik Ibsen: A Concise Biography
Streaming Video - 2011
Get a quick introduction to Ibsen’s life, work and lasting influence on modern theater in this short streaming video.

The Henrik Ibsen Collection
DVD - 2007
This DVD set of 10 BBC film and radio adaptations of Ibsen’s plays includes the 1987 production of Ghosts with Judi Dench as Mrs. Alving and Kenneth Branagh as her son Oswald.

Henrik Ibsen: Master Playwright
Streaming Video - 2005
Ibsen biographer Michael Meyer narrates this program about the development of Ibsen’s style over the course of his career from his early struggles to his epic plays to sociological works like Ghosts, A Doll’s House, and beyond.

Four Major Plays
by Ibsen, Henrik
Book - 2008
In addition to Ghosts (1881), this collection includes A Doll’s House (1879), Hedda Gabler (1891) and The Master Builder (1892), reproduced from the Oxford editions of Ibsen’s plays.

Immortal Ibsen
Streaming Video - 2005
This documentary pays tribute to Ibsen's immense dramatic legacy, through interviews with actors and director as well as snippets of various productions of his plays, including a Royal Theatre of Denmark production of Ghosts.

The Turn of the Screw
by James, Henry
Book - 2011
The “ghosts” in Ibsen’s play are figurative, while the existence of the ghosts in James’ classic gothic novel remains ambiguous. However, both of these works deftly explore the grave consequences of the resurfacing of dark, hidden family secrets.

So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch
by Knausgård, Karl Ove
Book - 2019
Norwegian painter Munch (“The Scream”) was greatly influenced by Ibsen’s plays and strongly identified with the character Oswald Alving in Ghosts. Knausgård, a well-known Norwegian novelist, explores Munch’s life and work in this brief study.

Youth and Exile
Streaming Video - 1984
This short streaming video gives a concise overview of Ibsen’s life and work and presents a few scenes from Ghosts accompanied by a discussion of the playwright’s stage techniques.

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