Arcadia
a play
by Tom Stoppard, Arion Press, Màrius Serra · first published 1993
81% recommend19% neutral
Arcadia moves back and forth between 1809 and the present at the elegant estate owned by the Coverly family. The 1809 scenes reveal a household in transition. As the Arcadian landscape is being transformed into picturesque Gothic gardens, complete with a hermitage, thirteen year-old Lady Thomasina and her tutor delve into intellectual and romantic issues. Present day scenes depict the Coverly descendants and two competing scholars who are researching a possible scandal at the estate in 1809 involving Lord Byron. This brilliant play moves smoothly between the centuries and explores the nature o
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Anyone wondering why this is here should read or go see a performance of Arcadia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcadia_(play) Tom Stoppard is the greatest living American playwright. Some of his earlier stuff can be a tad impenetrable, but Arcadia is why this story is here on Hacker…
on “Tom Stoppard Finally Looks into His Shadow” ↗Sorry if slightly off topic: This reminds of me a great play about a young, fictional mathematician woman that comes to great insights about chaos and entropy in the universe. The ending is beautiful. "Arcadia" by Tom Stoppard
on “Two women programmers played a pivotal role in the birth of chaos theory” ↗While “Arcadia” is likely of greatest interest to HN readers of all of Tom Stoppard’s plays, I also highly recommend “Jumpers” and “The Hard Problem.” Also worth noting the many excellent films he wrote, like “Brazil”…
on “Tom Stoppard Finally Looks into His Shadow” ↗[Some other random american novels I find excellent/significant] Crossing to Safety - William Gaddis Chronic City - Jonathan Lethem Latro in the Mist - Gene Wolfe Arcadia (Play) - Tom Stoppard The Last Picture Show & Texasville - Larry McMurtry [Read both] The Blithdale Romance - Nathaniel Hawthorne Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy ^One…
on “Books I Recommend” ↗Howard's End, EM Forster, is one, along with all of Forster. Arcadia, a play by Tom Stoppard, is fantastic. Good for many re-reads (and re-watches). Ursula Le Guin (maybe The Left Hand of Darkness is my favorite?) might be the best sci-fi/fantasy ever written, as much…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Tom Stoppard is an amazing playright. Arcadia and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead are two of the greatest plays.
on “Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (2009)” ↗…There’s no accounting for taste, and if you don’t like the play, no one can make you, but on the science he is always correct. If you’re interested in knowing more, I recommend Hermione Lee’s deep take on Arcadia in her new biography, Tom Stoppard: A Life.
on “The Algorithmic Genius of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia”” ↗"Arcadia" by Tom Stoppard. It's an incredible play which explores some of the foundational concepts of Chaos Theory as literary themes. I'm not a huge fiction reader, but this one gets me every time I read it.…
on “Ask HN: Great nontech book that you read recently?” ↗It's a play, but Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" is probably the best piece of fiction ever written about math, and honestly, probably the best piece of English literature written since Hamlet.
on “Ask HN: Books that blend math and fiction” ↗Neat! My introduction to Tom Stoppard was stumbling upon a performance of Arcadia one evening years ago. I left the theatre completely enthralled.
on “The Algorithmic Genius of Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia”” ↗…https://the-true-tropes.fandom.com/wiki/Lord_Byron My favorites are “The Stress of Her Regard” by Tim Powers and “The Difference Engine” (he appears only tangentially) (but still, damn, what a book). And of course “Arcadia,” an uncommonly beautiful play by Tom Stoppard.
on “'Byron: A Life in Ten Letters': The Regency's rakish rock star” ↗Landscape gardening (as well as thermodynamics) plays an important part in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia, which is excellent.
on “Lessons from That 1834 Landscape Gardening Guidebook” ↗I'm reminded of The Sidley Park Hermit in Tom Stoppard's beautiful "Arcadia".
on “Garden Hermit” ↗It was! I looked it up and the summary matches what I remember. I found the list, it may be missing some poems but this is largely what we covered: A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr Arcadia - Tom Stoppard Dulce et Decorum est - Wilfred Owen Frankenstein - Mary Shelley Kindred - Octavia E. Butler Life of Galileo - Bertolt Brecht Pygmalion - George Bernard Shaw Suicide in the Trenches…
on “Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (2009)” ↗I'm reminded of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, and the child genius Thomasina . . . "If you could stop every atom in its position and direction, and if your mind could comprehend all the actions thus suspended, then if you were really, really good…
on “We built the city of Colombo in Cities:Skylines” ↗