The Man Born To Be King: Wade Annotated Edition

Sayers, a popular 20th-century writer of novels, short stories, plays, essays, and translations, elicited much controversy with her set of 12 radio plays, titled the same as this book, on the life of Christ. The plays were targeted to children and those unfamiliar with the gospel, and she enlivened them by giving speaking parts to all characters, including Christ. She also had them speak in colloquial English, with the character of Matthew speaking with a Cockney accent. Church leaders and conservative Christians protested vigorously, seeing the plays as demeaning and disrespectful, but they were very successful. Now, 80 years later, Wehr, whose PhD dissertation was on Sayers’s plays, has published a new, annotated edition. She draws upon Sayers’s play manuscripts, typescripts, and personal correspondence to help the reader gain insight into the religious dramas. Wehr provides introductions to each of the plays, as well as footnotes for scriptural references and marginal notes. This annotated edition provides an abundance of helpful details.