Reviews

The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman

kadyhart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

holmanlclaire's review against another edition

challenging sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

literaryinluv's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

man fuck mary

morgan23's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Homophobia

oofrie's review against another edition

3.0

A very sad play that describes the terrible effect a lie can cause. I enjoyed it.

lollylou33's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this play so much. The way little subjects were snuck in and were important later meant I had to really pay attention to everything going on. The characters all had defined personalities and it made everything more interesting. Anyways it also made me sad read at your own risk.

asunnybooknook's review against another edition

5.0

Deeply moving. I want to play Martha some day

4.5

taylormendoza19's review against another edition

2.0

2/5 Stars

*TW for homophobia and suicide

Excellently written and undoubtedly significant. However, while this book was written in 1948, the way this book treated its lesbian character was definitely NOT ok.

ashkitty93's review against another edition

5.0

2022: Reread to prep for local auditions in a few weeks! I'd forgotten how heavy this was.

Update: Playing Agatha in February! https://stowplayers.net

2018: This is my second Hellman play, and I'm definitely interested in more of her work after being mesmerized by this and The Little Foxes. I connected with Martha's character right from the beginning -- her sarcasm, her cynicism, and by the end, her desperation were all wholly real to me.

I'm also glad to see I'm not the only one who envisioned a link between Mary Tilford and Abigail Williams from The Crucible. What a spiteful little brat.

kendradodd's review against another edition

4.0

the children's hour walked so the crucible could run. nowhere near the same story but i'm sure you could put a lot of crucible fingers in a production of this, too.