The Ghost Breaker: A Melodramatic Farce in Four Acts — Key Ideas to Explore

(0 User reviews) 29

In Category - Fantasy Juvenile Worlds

Authors: Dickey, Paul, 1885-1933, Goddard, Charles, 1879-1951 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2008 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: American drama -- 20th century Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 22,169

Reading time 97 min

Text sections 4

This digital edition of The Ghost Breaker: A Melodramatic Farce in Four Acts — Key Ideas to Explore is described by source-level measurements including 22,169 words, 1 hr 37 min estimated reading time, and 4 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 9.9 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “American drama -- 20th century,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #24702

This editorial note examines the play's blend of melodrama and farce through its stage directions, dialogue rhythms, and character dynamics, focusing on how the authors use exaggerated language and physical comedy to create tension and humor.

Editorial Edition Score 4.6/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg24702

Read the Text

were at the Manhattan last night, I believe.

PRINCESS. Yes! (JARVIS _and_ PRINCESS _look at each other and_ DUKE _reads from newspaper._)

JARVIS. Why, no---- (_Glancing at trunk._) I was so wrapped up in my baggage I really didn't have a chance. (_Looks at_ PRINCESS.)

DUKE. "Pistol duel in Manhattan Hotel. Colonel James Marcum, a prominent and wealthy Kentuckian, nearly met his death at five o'clock this morning in a pistol duel in his room at the Manhattan Hotel." (_Glancing down a little further_) "At a late hour the police had no clue to the identity of his assailant, except the remarkable fact that the person is still hiding somewhere in the hotel."

JARVIS. (_Interrupting_) He's probably a long way from the hotel by this time.

DUKE. (_Looking at paper_) They say that he couldn't have gotten out without being seen.

JARVIS. That's the theory of the police or reporters.

DUKE. What do you think?

JARVIS. He might have escaped in a thousand ways--but that work is hardly in my line. That belongs to the "Gum-shoes."

JARVIS. Yes, ordinary detectives. (_Enter_ NITA.)

NITA. Excuse, Madame----

PRINCESS. No, Nita! Not just yet. I'll call you when I want you.

JARVIS. We are keeping you from getting settled, I am afraid. (_Cross toward door._) So, if you will excuse me, I'll see you at luncheon, perhaps. Hooray! I am glad to have made your acquaintance, your Excellency.

DUKE. Thank you, Mr. Warren, I find you most interesting. I shall be glad to hear more of your remarkable profession. (WARREN _crosses to door and opens it, disclosing two detectives and steward._)

DETECTIVE. Are you Miss M. T. Ar--ra--gan?

PRINCESS. (L.C.) Yes!

DETECTIVE. You was at the Manhattan Hotel last night?

DETECTIVE. The lock on your door was broken?

DETECTIVE. (_Removes hat_) I am from headquarters, Madame, and I have orders to clear up one or two little matters with that affair at the hotel last night.

DUKE. Orders, orders! To break in here--what headquarters?

DETECTIVE. Police headquarters.

DUKE. Do you know whom you are addressing?

DETECTIVE. Say--that will be about all from you!

PRINCESS. Yes, Carlos. Please let me attend to this matter. Won't you come in, gentlemen?

DETECTIVE. Thanks. (_Realizing they are already in the room_) That's all, Steward. (_Exit_ STEWARD; _enter_ DETECTIVES, _closing door._ JARVIS _slips wounded hand into coat pocket._)

JARVIS. Yes, we were just discussing that mystery, Inspector.

DUKE. You are, I take it, one of the--er--gum-shoes? (JARVIS _laughs and goes up stage._)

DETECTIVE. (_Glaring angrily for a moment, walks over toward him and shouts in his face_) Gum-shoe! Say, are you trying to be funny?

DUKE. Well, sir, you are talking rather loud and with undue asperity. I presume I have offended you.

DETECTIVE. _You presume!_ That's a hot one! Say, who are you, anyhow?

DUKE. I am Carlos Hernando Duke D'Alva. I have other titles, but they would hardly interest you.

DETECTIVE. Dook de Alver--and then some, eh? Ain't that nice? Well, if you was the Archbishop of Canterbury I'd run yer in and take yer 'shore if yer give me any more lip! (_To_ PRINCESS, _sucks his teeth contemptuously and turns his back on_ DUKE. _Produces notebook from pocket and addresses_ PRINCESS.) As you was saying when we was interrupted, you was in the hotel when the shooting occurred. Did you hear it?

PRINCESS. Yes, I heard two shots.

DETECTIVE. Did you hear anything else?

PRINCESS. Yes, I heard some people running near my door.

DETECTIVE. Any one come in?

PRINCESS. Yes, my maid was frightened and came in.

DETECTIVE. Aha! How did the lock on your door get broken?

PRINCESS. It was broken when I came. I explained all that at the hotel.

DETECTIVE. Um--all right. What about the colored man who came to your room and carried away a large bundle.

PRINCESS. That was my servant. I sent for him. They were purchases I made too late to put in my trunk. They are here, unopened; you may examine them if you wish.

DETECTIVE. That's all right, Miss, but what do you know about this? (_Produces knife from pocket--walks slowly to her, examining it._) The initial on it is "W."

PRINCESS. Did I leave that? Thank you. I'm so glad you found it.

DETECTIVE. Then it's yours? Who is W? Your name is Aragon, I believe.

PRINCESS. I am Maria Theresa of Aragon.

DETECTIVE. But who is W?

PRINCESS. Why, er, it isn't W--you had it upside down. It is M--Maria Theresa.

DETECTIVE. That's all right, ma'am. Now there's just one thing more.

DUKE. (_Cross and touch_ DETECTIVE _on arm_) You will pardon me, but I wish to inform you that this man's name is Warren----

DETECTIVE. (_Crossing toward him_) Say! Who's conducting this inquiry, you er me?

DUKE. But, my dear man----

Continue Reading →

The Ghost Breaker opens with a stage direction that immediately establishes its hybrid tone: a "melodramatic farce." The play's first lines, delivered by the Duke to Robledo, set up a conspiratorial urgency that is undercut by the servants' bustling entrances and the villagers' offstage chants. The authors, Paul Dickey and Charles Goddard, rely on rapid-fire dialogue and exaggerated gestures—such as Pedro's bustling and the villagers' repeated cries of "The Duke!"—to signal that the supernatural plot is as much a vehicle for comedy as for suspense.

Diction and the Melodramatic Register

The dialogue in The Ghost Breaker oscillates between formal, almost archaic phrasing and colloquial American bluntness. The Duke speaks in clipped commands: "You've got work before you—Robledo." Robledo replies with theatrical readiness: "I'm ready, Excellency." This contrast is heightened when the American characters, Jarvis and Rusty, enter. Jarvis's dry aside—"Rusty, we're discovered!"—introduces a wry, self-aware tone that punctures the Spanish characters' grandiosity. The authors use this linguistic clash to generate comedy, as when Dolores addresses Jarvis as "the only man who dares to enter the castle," and he responds with feigned ignorance. The play's diction thus becomes a tool for character differentiation and tonal modulation.

Stage Directions as Character Cues

The stage directions in the excerpts are unusually detailed, often dictating not just movement but emotional inflection. For instance, when the Duke says "Any way you please, Robledo—means are of no consequence in this world," the direction (Taking coin from pocket) precedes his order to toast. This physical action underscores the transactional nature of his authority. Similarly, Robledo's offstage command—"Louder, you beggars, louder, or I'll give you something to yell for!"—is paired with the villagers' increasing volume, creating a comic escalation. The authors use such directions to guide actors toward broad, physical performances, reinforcing the farcical element. The repeated entrances and exits (e.g., Pedro bustling, Villagers bowing) suggest a stage crowded with movement, where every gesture is amplified for effect.

The Rhythm of Repetition and Call-and-Response

A recurring structural device in the excerpts is the use of repeated phrases and call-and-response patterns. The villagers' chant—"The Duke! The Duke! Long live the Duke!"—builds in volume under Robledo's threat, mimicking a crowd's manipulated enthusiasm. Later, Dolores's exclamation "Her Highness!" is echoed by Pedro and the villagers, creating a ripple effect that emphasizes the princess's entrance. This rhythmic repetition serves both melodrama (heightening anticipation) and farce (the mechanical, almost absurd obedience of the characters). The authors also employ parallel dialogue: the Duke's instruction to Robledo is mirrored by Dolores's announcement to Jarvis, linking the two plotlines through structural symmetry. Such patterns give the play a theatrical, almost musical quality, where words become cues for action.

Setting and the Supernatural as Stagecraft

The castle—the central setting—is never described in the excerpts, yet it looms as a offstage presence. Characters refer to it repeatedly: the Duke warns of the American who "will go into that castle tonight," and Dolores identifies Jarvis as "the only man who dares to enter the castle." This technique keeps the supernatural threat abstract, relying on dialogue to build suspense rather than on elaborate sets. The inn, by contrast, is a bustling, well-lit space with servants, trays, and motorcars—a realm of mundane activity. The contrast between the unseen, haunted castle and the crowded inn creates a spatial tension that drives the plot. The authors exploit this by having characters enter and exit from different doors, emphasizing the castle's proximity and the characters' reluctance to approach it. The setting thus functions as a character in itself, its mystery sustained by what is left unsaid.

Readers approaching The Ghost Breaker should attend to the interplay between its stage directions and dialogue, as these reveal the authors' deliberate balancing of melodrama and farce. The play rewards attention to verbal and physical repetition, which builds comic momentum while advancing the plot. The excerpts suggest that the supernatural elements are less about genuine terror than about creating opportunities for exaggerated reactions and mistaken identities—a hallmark of the farcical tradition.

There’s a particular delight in how The Ghost Breaker lets its exaggerated stage directions carry both the tension and the humor, the way a slammed door can be both threat and punchline. It reminds me of flipping through Mr. Punch's Dramatic Sequels — Reading Companion afterwards, where those same theatrical rhythms seem to echo into something softer, almost nostalgic. I found myself smiling at the overlap.