{"product_id":"2026100007217-secondhand-the-old-country","title":"The Old Country","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a dacha somewhere deep in the Soviet countryside, an Englishman named Hilary lives out his days in comfortable exile — reading, reminiscing, and cultivating the studied indifference of a man who has chosen ideology over country. Alan Bennett's The Old Country, first performed in 1977 with Alec Guinness in the lead role, is a razor-sharp Cold War play that chronicles the twilight existence of a British defector, unmistakably inspired by the Cambridge spy ring, as he awaits a possible return to the land he betrayed.\n\nBennett's signature wit cuts through the genteel surface of English manners and literary allusion to uncover a devastating portrait of self-deception and cultural identity. The play argues, with quiet ferocity, that Englishness itself — its irony, its detachment, its love of cricket and Housman — is a kind of treachery, a costume worn as much at home as in exile. With dialogue of extraordinary precision and a tone that balances melancholy with mordant humour, The Old Country stands as one of Bennett's most politically charged and intellectually provocative works, leaving the audience to wonder whether Hilary's greatest betrayal was of his country — or of himself.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130936238299,"sku":"2026100007217-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/b634b6b7-bdac-4502-8ceb-a05e85f47762.png?v=1786592768","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100007217-secondhand-the-old-country","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}