Theatrical Companion to Maugham (edition 1955)

Raymond Mander
Joe Mitchenson

Theatrical Companion to Maugham

Rockliff, Hardback, 1955.
8vo. xi+307 pp. First Edition. Appreciation by J. C. Trewin [pp. 1-16]. 196 black-and-white illustrations.

Table of Contents

PREFACE
ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO THE PLAYS

W. Somerset Maugham - An Appreciation of His Work in the Theater by J. C. Trewin [pp 1-17]

THE PLAYS (in order or writing) [Written]
1. Schiffbrüchig (Marriages are made in Heaven): I Act [1896-97]
2. Mademoiselle Zampa: I Act [1896-97]
3. A Man Of Honour [1898, revised in 1902]
4. The Explorer [1899]
5. Loaves and Fishes [1902]
6. Lady Frederick [1903]
7. Mrs Dot [1904]
8. Jack Straw [1907]
9. Penelope [1908]
10. The Noble Spaniard (Translation) [1908]
11. Smith [1909]
12. The Tenth Man [1909]
13. Grace (Landed Gentry) [1910]
14. The Perfect Gentleman (Translation) [1912]
15. The Land of Promise [1913]
16. Our Betters [1915]
17. Caroline (The Unattainable) [1915]
18. Love in a Cottage [1917]
19. Caesar's Wife [1918]
20. Too Many Husbands (Home and Beauty) [1919]
21. The Circle [1919]
22. The Unknown [1920]
23. East of Suez [1922]
24. The Camel's Back [1923]
25. The Road Uphill (Unproduced) [1924]
26. The Constant Wife [1926]
27. The Letter [1927]
28. The Sacred Flame [1928]
29. The Breadwinner [1930]
30. For Services Rendered [1932]
31. The Mask and the Face (Translation) [1933]
32. Sheppey [1932]

PLAYS ADAPTED (BY OTHER WRITERS) FROM NOVELS AND STORIES
33. Rain
34. The Moon and Sixpence
35. The Painted Veil
36. Theatre (Larger than Life)
37. Jane
38. Before the Party
39. Ashenden

APPENDIX
The Plays in Order of Writing
The Plays in Order of Production
Plays Adapted by Other Writers from Novels and Stories
Film Versions of the Plays
Films from Stories and Novels by W. Somerset Maugham
First American and New York Productions of the Plays of W. Somerset Maugham
First Publication of the Plays
Translations and Broadcasts
Index of Characters

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Here is a book of utmost importance for every admirer of W. Somerset Maugham, the playwright. This thoroughly researched volume was first (and only, I think) published in 1955 with the approval of Maugham himself; indeed, a brief letter from the great playwright to both authors of this book is quoted on one of the first pages in which Maugham thanked them for the impressive amount of work they had done. It is quite impressive indeed. Probably every play Maugham ever wrote is given here a detailed entry: dramatis personae, synopsis, first production and revivals together with the number of performances, notes on writing and publication, quotes from contemporary reviews and so on. Even such ephemeral pieces like The Camel's Back and The Road Uphill are included: the former was such a failure on the stage that it was never published and the latter, with an extraordinarily similar plot to Maugham's much later novel The Razor's Edge (1944), was neither produced nor published ever. Mander and Mitchenson even took the trouble to include the three plays Maugham translated from other languages and seven plays adapted by others from Maugham's novels and short stories. In addition, the indefatigable authors quote extensively from Maugham's own works and they probably extracted and collected everything he ever wrote about any of his plays in various places, mostly The Summing Up (1938) and the prefaces to the six volumes of Collected Plays (1931-34). This is extremely helpful and convenient. Finally, the book is lavishly illustrated with 196 black-and-white photos, almost all of them from different productions of pretty much every play of Maugham that was ever produced. Invaluable encyclopedia for every fan of Maugham's works for the stage. ( )