Martin Esslin was born in 1918 and educated at Vienna. He read English and Philosophy at Vienna University. From 1936 to 1938 he trained as a director at the Reinhardt Seminar of Dramatic Art in Vienna. He joined the BBC in 1940, and was producer and scriptwriter in the European Services from 1941 to 1955. Since 1963 he has been Head of Radio Drama. He was awarded the OBE in 1972. His previous publications include Brecht: A Choice of Evils (1951); The Theatre of the Absurd (1962); Brief Chronicles. Essays on Modern Theatre (1970); Pinter. A Study of His Plays (1973). He has also edited Beckett (1965), a collection of essays; The Genius of the German Theatre (1968); and The New Theatre of Europe (1970).

The influence of Antonin Artaud on the contemporary theatre has only become evident since the early Sixties, although writers and directors have been directly or indirectly influenced by his thinking and innovations for many years. Today his pre-eminence as a founder of modern theatrical style is rivalled only by Brecht, with whom he has much in common.

The man and his work, as Martin Esslin persuasively argues in this perceptive study, are inseparable and must be considered together. Genius or madman, everything about Artaud is fascinating - his extraordinary life, his passions, his wide-ranging interests, the brilliance and originality that he brought to his plays, his productions and his other writings. Artaud died in 1948 at the age of fifty-two, but accomplished a revolution in his short life that is still bearing fruit today.

This compact, carefully researched study is an invaluable guide, combining readability with a sympathetic and authoritative study of its subject.