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  • Published: 26 August 2015
  • ISBN: 9780451473172
  • Imprint: Nal
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $36.00

Ideal



A unique volume that includes both the original novel version of Ideal, and the story's final incarnation as a play. Ideal follows actress Kay Gonda as she pleads for help from six of her most avid fans: an upstanding family man, an activist, an artist, an evangelist, a wealthy playboy, and a lost soul. To each she says that she is wanted by the police for murder and needs to hide. By the end of the night she has tested the integrity of six people who claim that she is their ideal.

INCLUDES THE NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED NOVEL

In print for the first time ever, author and philosopher Ayn Rand’s novel Ideal.

Originally conceived as a novel but then transformed into a play by Ayn Rand, Ideal is the story of beautiful but tormented actress Kay Gonda. Accused of murder, she is on the run, and she turns for help to six fans who have written letters to her, each telling her that she represents their ideal—a respectable family man, a far-left activist, a cynical artist, an evangelist, a playboy, and a lost soul. Each reacts to her plight in his own way, their reactions a glimpse into their secret selves and their true values. In the end their responses to her pleas give Kay the answers she has been seeking.

Ideal was written in 1934 as a novel, but Ayn Rand thought the theme of the piece would be better realized as a play and put the novel aside. Now, both versions of Ideal are available for the first time ever to the millions of Ayn Rand fans around the world, giving them a unique opportunity to explore the creative process of Rand as she wrote first a book, then a play, and the differences between the two.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LEONARD PEIKOFF
 

  • Published: 26 August 2015
  • ISBN: 9780451473172
  • Imprint: Nal
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $36.00

About the author

Ayn Rand

A Life More Compelling Than Fiction' was the slogan of the 1997 Academy Award-nominated documentary Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life. The film poster describes Ayn Rand as 'The most original, uncompromising and controversial writer/philosopher of the twentieth century.' Born and raised in the mysticism and collectivism of Russia, she escaped to America in 1926 and became a champion of reason and individualism. To learn more about the woman who wrote inspiring, best-selling novels and created a new philosophy, choose from the related subjects to learn more.

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