Paul Green: Playwright of the Real South.

Paul Green: Playwright of the Real South. By John Herbert Roper. (Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, c. 2003. Pp. xvi, 320. $34.95, ISBN 0-8203-2488-4.)

Paul Green (1894-1981) is perhaps best known today for his most enduring theatrical work, The Lost Colony, an epic symphonic drama performed each summer on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Readers initially drawn to this biography by its title may not realize that Green's more lasting contributions come in the form of his social and political activism. John Herbert Roper sets out to tell the story of Paul Green, the reformer and activist--despite the title, which might suggest a focus on Green's work as a playwright. The book does indeed carefully cover Green's theatrical and literary career, but from the first line of the introduction Roper makes it clear that his aim is broader: "This biography is the story of a liberal" (p. xi). The "Real South" of the title (note the capitalization) refers to the literary and social landscape of North Carolina that Green sought to define and develop throughout his life's work (most thoroughly explored in chapter 6 of the book).

The book traces the life of this dynamic social reformer. Roper begins with a succinct family history and then explores Green's childhood in the Sand Hills of North Carolina, his time as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), his service in World War I, his marriage, and his career as a professor (of both philosophy and dramatics/and professional writer. The overriding locus, however, is on the development of the man who campaigned steadfastly against Jim Crow, capital punishment, and the other injustices (mostly racial) he saw in his beloved "New South."

Throughout the book. Roper explores the influences that shaped Green and clearly paints images of the people significant to his development. So vivid are these images that one emerges feeling a true sense of knowing the persons key to Green's life. This quality is particularly evident in the descriptions of the faculty and administration of UNC.

The overall tone of Roper's book is that of a tribute to a beloved figure. Despite this, the work remains for the most part objective, gently acknowledging Green's faults and foibles along with his accomplishments. This is the most thorough examination to date of Green's life. Roper has gathered information from personal papers, interviews of family and friends, the public record, and literary and theatrical criticism to create this comprehensive view of Paul Green, the man and the artist. Roper provides thorough notation for each chapter, a very complete bibliography, and fourteen pages of photographs.

Ultimately, this biography will be of interest to those who seek more understanding of social reforms in the South during the early and mid-twentieth century, as well as to those who want more information about one of the often overlooked but significant dramatic writers of the same period. Roper convincingly justifies Green's importance in both spheres.

Elon University

FREDRICK J. RUBECK