Books by David Storey

Colin Saville grows up in a mining village in South Yorkshire, against the background of war, of an industrialised countryside, of town and coalmine and village.

The third son of a coalminer, David Storey takes us from his tough upbringing in Wakefield, to being 'sold' to Leeds Rugby League Club, to his escape to the Slade School of Art and his life in post-war London.

Rugby League football in an industrial northern city circa 1960 is a life of grime, mud, sweat, intrigue and naked ambition. In This Sporting Life, David Storey recounts the fortunes of gladiator hero Arthur Machin from the day of his inclusion in the local team to the match when he begins to feel age creeping up on him.

It is the 60th wedding anniversary of Tommy Pasmore and his wife. Their three children, Colin, the friendless academic who has bought the house in which his parents now live, childless Wendy, forsaking marriage for politics, and pragmatic Eileen, have returned home to celebrate, if that is the right expression. The senior Pasmores live together despite each other and as the layers of formal affection and bickering banter are peeled back we discover deep wells of disappointment and despair, not only for themselves but also for a society that appears to have exchanged one kind of poverty for another.3 women, 3 men

Two elderly gentlemen stroll on to an almost bare terrace. They discuss various subjects - the past, schooldays, climate, the sea, moustaches, the war, families, etc., etc. It is not until the following scene when we meet two women that we realize we are actually in the grounds of a mental hospital, and that these people are patients. Although with no plot at all in the conventional sense and sparse dialogue, by the end of the afternoon we have been moved to compassion and respect.2 women, 3 men

One works. One looks around. One meets people. But very little communication takes place . . . That is the nature of this little island.As five apparently unrelated characters meet in a seemingly insignificant garden, the autumnal sun shines overhead and everybody waits for rain. What they discuss is superficially anything that can pass the time. What is portrayed is the very essence of England, Englishness, class, unfulfilled ambition, loves lost and homes that no longer exist. Storey's timeless play is a beautiful, compassionate, tragic and darkly funny study of the human mind and a once-great nation coming to terms with its new place in the world.

"David Storey is a writer who genuinely extends the territory of drama" (Guardian)

The second volume of David Storey's plays in the "World Classics" series contains three of his most enduring works: "The Restoration of Arnold Middleton", "In Celebration" and "The March on Russia".

The author is widely studied on school and university syllabuses and this collection of four of his plays includes two which were premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1969 and 1970 and one which will premiere in October. By the author of "Saville", which won the Booker Prize.

The third volume of David Storey's plays includes: "The Changing Room", "Cromwell" and "Life Class".