Abse is one of Britain's leading and best-loved literary figures. These plays House of Cowards, The Dogs of Pavlov, and Pythagoras (Smith) were written in reaction to the Holocaust. House of Cowards concerns the willingness of people to surrender their individuality to a charismatic leader; The Dogs of Pavlov explores the conditioning of people to perform unthinking evil; and Pythagoras (Smith) is set in an asylum and is concerned with the relationship of patient, doctor, medicine, and magic. All have been performed in London. Abse's achievement is to retain humor and hope among such themes.