An intensely autobiographical, magnificently tragic portrait of O'Neill's own family; a play so acutely personal that he insisted it was not published until after his death (although written in 1939-41, it wasn't performed in the US until 1967). Long Day's Journey into Night is a true modern classic from one of the twentieth century's most significant writers, and has been described as a dark side to the earlier play Ah! Wilderness.

One single day in the Tyrones' Connecticut home. James Tyrone Snr. is a miser, a talented actor who even squanders his talent in an undemanding role; eldest son Jamie is an affable, whoremongering alcoholic and confirmed ne'er-do well; youngest son Edmund is poetic, sensitive, suffering from a respiratory condition and deep-seated disillusionment; and their mother, Mary, lives in a haze of self-delusion and morphine addiction. Existing together under this roof, and the profound weight of the past, they subtly tear one another apart, shred by shred.

This edition includes a full introduction, biographical sketch and chronology.