The amazing true story behind The Crucible brings to life a repressive era in American history 'It would probably never have occurred to me to write a play about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 had I not seen some astonishing correspondences with that calamity in the America of the late forties and early fifties.' So begins Arthur Miller's candid reflection on the post-war climate of suspicion and paranoia which led to his writing The Crucible, his cri de coeur against the destruction of lives and reputations in an America in which trust and innocence were sacrificed to political hysteria. Here, Miller recounts with candour the intimate details of his own peril and despair during Senator McCarthy's infamous anti-Communist crusade. In the two other essays included, the late playwright looks back at the writing of Death of a Salesman on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, and reflects on the inspiration for The Price. The true story behind one of the most important plays of the twentieth century The much acclaimed new Broadway production of Death of a Salesman opens at the Lyric Theatre, London, in May 2005, starring Brian Dennehy Miller is a perennial of the theatre. His plays are constantly revived all over the world; and studied on school and university courses Continuous sales of Miller's drama backlist