A review by jezziebelle
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman

3.0

For context, I read this play as part of a collection of various Lillian Hellman plays. 'The Children's Hour' is the reason I picked it up, but this is the play that has made me happy I did. Once again, I curse Goodreads due to lack of half-stars; this is a 3.5 star play. It exceeded my expectations, especially since it came after 'Days to Come', a completely lackluster piece. After I'd finished 'Foxes', I caught myself wishing it was longer because I really would have loved to find out how Alexandra, Birdie, and Leo turned out. Being stuck in a family like the Hubbard family must surely be hell to escape from. Even poor Leo, who grew so desperate to gain his family's approval so much so that he'd steal from his own boss and uncle deserved something better in my opinion. What struck me about this the most is this is how I expected an Oscar Wilde piece to play out. Yes his work is all very witty, but every play I've read of his is based around the exact same joke, over and over, while 'Foxes' manages to be both witty and poignant. With Wilde, the wit was more or less used for comedic purposes only. It was witty for the sake of being witty so every snarky, sarcastic, clever word fell flat for me because there was no substance to it in regards to the plot of the play. In fact, half the time I found Wilde would have characters go on and on without them really saying anything at all. In 'Foxes', wit served a purpose and drove the plot forward while also being entertaining, so this play delivered for me what I had hoped other, more notable, playwrights could not. I'd never even heard of Lillian Hellman until I read the synopsis for 'The Children's Hour' randomly on Goodreads. I could only get ahold of that play by borrowing a book of collected plays from my library. Now I'm happy I kept reading after I'd finished the play I picked it up for. This isn't the best play I've ever read, but it's the best play I've ever read that I've picked randomly. I could see the ending coming, but the characters were so well written I didn't care that I saw the 'twist' coming a mile away. Hellman writes her characters superbly, even if the story she places them in can't hold up. I hope the collection doesn't go downhill from here, because I'm finally starting to enjoy this!