Written in 1940 during Brecht's exile in Finland, Puntila is one of his greatest creations - to be ranked alongside Galileo and Mother Courage. A hard-drinking Finnish landowner, Puntila suffers from a divided personality: when drunk he is human and humane; when sober, surly and self-centred. The play contains some of the best comedy Brecht wrote for the theatre.

This translation by John Willett is accompanied by Brecht's own notes and relevant texts, as well as an extensive introduction and commentary by John Willett and Ralph Manheim, editor's of Brecht's collected plays in English.