The waltz of the dogs: A play in four acts: Play Guide and Free Edition
The waltz of the dogs: A play in four acts: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The waltz of the dogs: A play in four acts is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Andreyev, Leonid (1871–1919). The listed translation credits are Bernstein, Herman (1876–1935).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The waltz of the dogs" by Leonid Andreyev is a play written in the early 20th century. This intense psychological drama tracks the unraveling of precise, respected banker Henry Tile after his fiancée Elizabeth betrays him, as he hardens into a manipulative schemer, preys on the pliable Alexandrov (“Feklusha”), clashes with his cynical brother Carl, and flirts with theft, disguise, and domination. It explores betrayal, identity, and moral rot amid urban gloom, with the mocking refrain of Henry’s childlike “Waltz of the Dogs” underscoring his descent. The opening of this play sets the fall in motion: in Henry’s still-unfinished flat, a letter arrives revealing Elizabeth has married another, and Henry’s stunned fury leaves him alone in a barren room, pacing, raging, and pounding the piano. A year later, Carl bullies the servant for a key, needles Feklusha, and crassly proposes profiting from Henry’s life insurance, while Henry—now feared at the bank—confides to Feklusha a grand plan to steal a million and flee abroad. After Henry and Feklusha go drinking, Carl sneaks in with Elizabeth, now Carl’s lover, who wavers between guilt and a lingering attachment to Henry before they’re spooked by imagined footsteps. On a foggy canal, Henry intoxicates and terrifies Feklusha with boasts of crime and omnipotence, then brings a streetwalker, “Happy Jennie,” back to the flat, where he drinks, alternately cajoles and humiliates them, rehearses an English disguise, and forces them to whirl to his taunting “Waltz of the Dogs.” At the start of the final excerpt, Elizabeth returns with Carl; he boasts he will marry her, while Feklusha reveals Henry has been insured and produces a forged suicide note—evidence of a looming plot as the atmosphere tightens toward crime.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The waltz of the dogs: A play in four acts
- Author credits: Andreyev, Leonid (1871–1919)
- Catalogue language: English
- Translator credits: Bernstein, Herman (1876–1935)
Catalogue subjects
- Drama -- 20th century
- Dramatists, Russian -- 20th century
- Russian drama -- 20th century
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Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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