The Road to the Temple: A Biography of George Cram Cook

Table of Contents (PDF)

Eugene O’ Neill is one of America’s most celebrated playwrights, but relatively few Americans know the name of the man who essentially gave O’Neill his chance at greatness: George Cram “Jig” Cook, who was instrumental in the founding of the Provincetown Players, a group dedicated to the production of new and experimental plays. Cook’s story, with all its hopes, dreams, and disappointments, is told in The Road to the Temple.

First published in the United States in 1927, this biography is the work of Cook’s third wife, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Susan Glaspell. It traces Cook’s lifelong search for self, from his birthplace in Davenport, Iowa, to the antiquity of Greece. Into her narrative, Glaspell weaves many excerpts from Jig's own work - deeply personal writing that brings Jig vividly to life. In addtion, she offers finely crafted portraits of the American Midwest in the late nineteenth century and Greenwich Village between 1910 and 1920, as well as a moving, lyrical account of the life she and Jig lived in Greece, where Jig died on January 11, 1924, This compelling combination of biography and autobiography presents a unique, personal picture of a fascinating American original.

Linda Ben Zvi is Professor of Theatre Studies, Tel Aviv University.