AU$25.00

Publisher: Im Bertelsmann Lesering

Plot: The plot is organised around the activities of three different financial consortiums which are taking place in London. Three central characters each take their place with their own strand of the capitalist economy in order to shows ways in which this economy can be seen to effect each individual person in complex and often unpredictable ways. A character named Peachum maintains a syndicate of street beggars whom he ruthlessly exploits, a character named Coax attempts to invest in a commercial shipping venture and Macheath, a gangster, the origin of the song "Mack the Knife", maintains a commercial venture. Macheath is presented in the novel as someone who has left behind his previous life as a cut-throat gangster and instead is now attempting to make serious progress in business by engaging in direct competition and attempting to absorb and defeat his competitors in a commercial sense. As well as depicting Macheath's rise to power, the novel also focuses on the ways in which Macheath is able to court Polly, the daughter of a rich individual known as Peachum. Brecht employs a series of complex plot twists and turns in order to demonstrate Macheath's legitimate rise to power and to show the way in which he is able to do this often with legal sanction.

Condition: Overall a good hardcover with light shelf wear; dustjacket has the usual wear; faded dustjacket spine; signature on title page; no writing or markings in text;