Project Gutenberg 1998-05-01 Public domain in the USA. 133 Dunsany, Lord 1878 1957 Plunkett, Edward John Moreton Drax, Baron Dunsany Dunsany, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, Baron If: A Play in Four Acts Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger "If: A Play in Four Acts" by Lord Dunsany is a dramatic play written in the early 20th century. The play delves into themes of choice, consequence, and the nature of reality through its exploration of time and fate. The primary character, John Beal, is presented with a crystal that possesses the power to let him revisit his past and potentially alter decisions, leading to introspective conflicts about his life and relationships. At the start of the play, we are introduced to John Beal and his wife, Mary, who reside in a modest suburban home. The narrative opens at a small railway station where John is prevented from boarding a train due to a railway worker named Bill, leading to John's frustration and unresolved feelings about an important missed opportunity. The scene shifts to John’s home, where he reflects on this event and interacts with Mary, discussing mundane matters that reveal their domestic life. A significant twist occurs when John encounters Ali, who gifts him the mystical crystal, presenting the possibility of altering his past—specifically, his decision to catch a train a decade earlier. This sets the stage for John's inner turmoil and the consequences of his choices, as Mary warns him against tampering with the past, highlighting the play's central theme of wrestling with the allure of making different choices. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 97.0 (5th grade). Very easy to read. en English drama PR Text Fantasy Category: Plays/Films/Dramas 202402 2025-08-01T09:18:38.910230 text/html 211061 2013-01-31T16:14:24 text/html; charset=us-ascii 126709 2025-08-01T09:18:47.258181 application/epub+zip 127802 2025-08-01T09:18:41.981223 application/epub+zip 116475 2025-08-01T09:18:40.691213 application/epub+zip 279525 2025-08-01T09:18:50.333209 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 265673 2025-08-01T09:18:46.237213 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 190726 2022-09-01T10:25:59.813639 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 137659 2023-10-01T08:30:21.051582 text/plain 15471 2025-08-01T09:18:50.487170 application/rdf+xml 13793 2025-08-01T09:18:41.261202 image/jpeg 3931 2025-08-01T09:18:40.955209 image/jpeg 123300 2025-08-01T09:18:38.924224 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia