Good Playtext

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by C.P. Taylor

Professor John Halder is a 'good' man. But 'good' men must adapt to survive.

As the world faces its Second World War, Halder finds himself pulled into a movement with unthinkable consequences.

Good is a story about a liberal-minded university professor who drifts well-meaningly into a position in the upper reaches of the Nazi administration. John Halder, a professor of literature, seems to be a good man; he diligently visits his blind and senile mother and looks after his vacant wife and three children. He is unremarkable, other than an unusual neurotic tic: the imaginary sound of band music plays in the background of his life, particularly at moments of high emotion. But by writing a book – the result of his own experience – discussing euthanasia for senile elderly people and by lecturing on the delicacy of German literary culture, John has unintentionally made himself a very desirable acquisition for the Nazi party.

A profound and alarming examination of passivity and the rationalisation of evil.

Originally published in 1982, this new edition was published to coincide with the West End revival in 2022 starring David Tennant.