--- product_id: 8789362 title: "Becket" price: "SAR 92" currency: SAR in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/8789362-becket store_origin: SA region: Saudi Arabia --- # Becket **Price:** SAR 92 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Becket - **How much does it cost?** SAR 92 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.sa](https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/8789362-becket) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The celebrated play that draws from historical events in the Norman conquest of England to create a profound portrait of a man's soul—and a transcendent vision of the human spirit From its powerful opening scene, of a naked King Henry II praying at the tomb of Thomas Becket, to the final wrenching act of ultimate self-sacrifice, Jean Anouilh's Becket remains a towering achievement in the history of the theatre. Winner of the Antoinette Perry Award for Best Play of the Season, Anouilh's monumental work—introduced in this edition by the acclaimed writer and critic Andre Aciman—draws from historical events in the Norman conquest of England to paint a profound and enduring portrait of the saint and martyr. Review: To Serve God or the King - Writers of historical drama take the liberty of creating fictional narratives based on actual events or characters in historical settings. In contrast to docudrama, factual accuracy is not a criterion for evaluating a historical play. In line with that liberty, Jean Anouilh’s play Becket or The Honor of God has an interesting story behind it. Anouilh inadvertently makes a mistake about Saint Thomas Becket’s background that made his play interesting in his own way. Anouilh buys a used copy of Augustin Thierry’s book The Conquest of England by the Normans, starts reading it leisurely, but is interrupted by routine chores and puts it aside. Sometime later his wife asks him for a book to read in bed and Anouilh recommends Thierry’s book, which he did not finish reading. Here is how Anouilh happened to write the play Becket: with tearful eyes, his wife says “Oh, how beautiful it is! Why don’t you make a play of it? It’s absolutely you!” (Anouilh 6). He writes the play in fifteen days and gives it to one of his historian friends. To his surprise, his friend says Becket was a Norman but the character in Anouilh’s play is portrayed as a Saxon, which is historically a mistake. Anouilh, however, never corrected this mistake because it required rewriting of a large portion of the play. That said, in the Introduction to the play, he acknowledges this mistake and welcomes the reader to a different portrayal of Saint Thomas à Becket which turned out to be one of a kind. Becket is Henry’s confidant to the extent that the King appoints him Chancellor of England. Becket can’t believe it and thinks the King is joking, but the die is cast. Henry promotes Becket to Archbishop of Canterbury to have more control over the Church. The King’s minion-barons are not in good terms with him at the beginning, but Becket’s wise and skillful management of affairs leads to the King’s and his men’s admiration of the Chancellor’s wit and finesse. Conflicts begin to rise. The major disagreement between Becket and Henry is the legal rights of the clergy. Becket argues that if a church official commits a crime, it’s the Church that has the jurisdiction over the matter, while the King considers this the right of the State of England. Becket insists that he cannot serve God and the King at once, which infuriates the King. Whether Becket, once a libertine, can serve as a man of God or he cannot get rid of his past, whether he chooses to serve the king or the Church, whether he succeeds to serve as a devoted Archbishop while remaining loyal to the King, and what happens to these close friends after Becket’s promotion are uncovered by the author’s skillful character development through the story. Anouilh portrays the excruciating dilemma of King Henry’s love of Becket that clashes with his ambitions and interests. There are interesting scenes showing Becket’s efforts to discipline the ruthless, promiscuous King, such as introducing fork as an eating tool. An impressive characteristic of Anouilh’s language in the play is the balanced use of humor and solemnity to portray the characters, a significant signature of Anouilh that distinguishes his delicate hybrid genre compared to the classical comedy-tragedy dichotomy. This book may appeal to drama lovers, students of Theater and Dramatic Arts, and specially to the interested researchers and critics who have read Christopher Fry’s Curtmantle and T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. A comparative study of these three plays may reveal which characterization better portrays Becket as an Episcopal body and his relationship with King Henry II. Happy reading! Review: Be dazzled--read the play - If William Shakespeare had lived in our time, he would’ve written plays similar to “Becket.” Indeed, “Becket” reminds me of “Julius Caesar”—simple, direct, with unforgettable characters undone by their life decisions. It’s a play that grabs you immediately and holds you to the closing scene, of bitterest irony. It’s a play that reads like a well-crafted novel. In the Introduction, the author, Jean Anouilh, writes: “I am not a serious man, I wrote ‘Becket’ by chance.” By chance he laid his hands on a very old copy of “The Conquest of England by the Normans” (by Augustin Thierry, “an historian of the Romantic school,” says Anouilh) and happened upon the 30 or so pages that tell the story of Becket. “I was dazzled,” he writes. “I had expected to find a saint . . . and I found a man.” Dazzled as he was, it was his wife who encouraged him to take up his pen and create a play. “Oh, how beautiful it is. Why don’t you make a play of it. It’s absolutely you!” It’s a drama of friendship between two men, between a king and his friend, his companion in pleasure and in work. “(T)his is what had gripped me about the story,”says Anouilh, “this friend who he could not cease to love though he became his worst enemy the night he was named archbishop. . . .” To quote the Bible, Becket could not serve both "God and mammon"--thus the conflict that drives the story. Becket could not serve both the English king and the Catholic church. Once appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket’s whole-hearted devotion to Henry II was redirected from serving the king to serving God. The English king was at first confused, then angry, and could not forgive Becket’s change of devotion. To compound matters, Henry II had appointed Becket Archbishop for political reasons—to fatten the English treasury. Having switched loyalties, Becket could not help but block such a scheme. Friendship, humor, honor, irony, betrayal—it’s all here. Be dazzled—read the play, even if you’ve seen the movie. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,130,304 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #512 in Medieval Literary Criticism (Books) #894 in British & Irish Dramas & Plays #1,161 in British & Irish Literary Criticism (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 46 Reviews | ## Images ![Becket - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61XpfXpPfJL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ To Serve God or the King *by M***Z on July 4, 2023* Writers of historical drama take the liberty of creating fictional narratives based on actual events or characters in historical settings. In contrast to docudrama, factual accuracy is not a criterion for evaluating a historical play. In line with that liberty, Jean Anouilh’s play Becket or The Honor of God has an interesting story behind it. Anouilh inadvertently makes a mistake about Saint Thomas Becket’s background that made his play interesting in his own way. Anouilh buys a used copy of Augustin Thierry’s book The Conquest of England by the Normans, starts reading it leisurely, but is interrupted by routine chores and puts it aside. Sometime later his wife asks him for a book to read in bed and Anouilh recommends Thierry’s book, which he did not finish reading. Here is how Anouilh happened to write the play Becket: with tearful eyes, his wife says “Oh, how beautiful it is! Why don’t you make a play of it? It’s absolutely you!” (Anouilh 6). He writes the play in fifteen days and gives it to one of his historian friends. To his surprise, his friend says Becket was a Norman but the character in Anouilh’s play is portrayed as a Saxon, which is historically a mistake. Anouilh, however, never corrected this mistake because it required rewriting of a large portion of the play. That said, in the Introduction to the play, he acknowledges this mistake and welcomes the reader to a different portrayal of Saint Thomas à Becket which turned out to be one of a kind. Becket is Henry’s confidant to the extent that the King appoints him Chancellor of England. Becket can’t believe it and thinks the King is joking, but the die is cast. Henry promotes Becket to Archbishop of Canterbury to have more control over the Church. The King’s minion-barons are not in good terms with him at the beginning, but Becket’s wise and skillful management of affairs leads to the King’s and his men’s admiration of the Chancellor’s wit and finesse. Conflicts begin to rise. The major disagreement between Becket and Henry is the legal rights of the clergy. Becket argues that if a church official commits a crime, it’s the Church that has the jurisdiction over the matter, while the King considers this the right of the State of England. Becket insists that he cannot serve God and the King at once, which infuriates the King. Whether Becket, once a libertine, can serve as a man of God or he cannot get rid of his past, whether he chooses to serve the king or the Church, whether he succeeds to serve as a devoted Archbishop while remaining loyal to the King, and what happens to these close friends after Becket’s promotion are uncovered by the author’s skillful character development through the story. Anouilh portrays the excruciating dilemma of King Henry’s love of Becket that clashes with his ambitions and interests. There are interesting scenes showing Becket’s efforts to discipline the ruthless, promiscuous King, such as introducing fork as an eating tool. An impressive characteristic of Anouilh’s language in the play is the balanced use of humor and solemnity to portray the characters, a significant signature of Anouilh that distinguishes his delicate hybrid genre compared to the classical comedy-tragedy dichotomy. This book may appeal to drama lovers, students of Theater and Dramatic Arts, and specially to the interested researchers and critics who have read Christopher Fry’s Curtmantle and T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. A comparative study of these three plays may reveal which characterization better portrays Becket as an Episcopal body and his relationship with King Henry II. Happy reading! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Be dazzled--read the play *by R***O on August 24, 2017* If William Shakespeare had lived in our time, he would’ve written plays similar to “Becket.” Indeed, “Becket” reminds me of “Julius Caesar”—simple, direct, with unforgettable characters undone by their life decisions. It’s a play that grabs you immediately and holds you to the closing scene, of bitterest irony. It’s a play that reads like a well-crafted novel. In the Introduction, the author, Jean Anouilh, writes: “I am not a serious man, I wrote ‘Becket’ by chance.” By chance he laid his hands on a very old copy of “The Conquest of England by the Normans” (by Augustin Thierry, “an historian of the Romantic school,” says Anouilh) and happened upon the 30 or so pages that tell the story of Becket. “I was dazzled,” he writes. “I had expected to find a saint . . . and I found a man.” Dazzled as he was, it was his wife who encouraged him to take up his pen and create a play. “Oh, how beautiful it is. Why don’t you make a play of it. It’s absolutely you!” It’s a drama of friendship between two men, between a king and his friend, his companion in pleasure and in work. “(T)his is what had gripped me about the story,”says Anouilh, “this friend who he could not cease to love though he became his worst enemy the night he was named archbishop. . . .” To quote the Bible, Becket could not serve both "God and mammon"--thus the conflict that drives the story. Becket could not serve both the English king and the Catholic church. Once appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket’s whole-hearted devotion to Henry II was redirected from serving the king to serving God. The English king was at first confused, then angry, and could not forgive Becket’s change of devotion. To compound matters, Henry II had appointed Becket Archbishop for political reasons—to fatten the English treasury. Having switched loyalties, Becket could not help but block such a scheme. Friendship, humor, honor, irony, betrayal—it’s all here. Be dazzled—read the play, even if you’ve seen the movie. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Quick delivery *by P***2 on September 1, 2024* Very good condition and super quick delivery. Thank you. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/8789362-becket](https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/8789362-becket) --- *Product available on Desertcart Saudi Arabia* *Store origin: SA* *Last updated: 2026-06-07*