Publisher's Synopsis
This sprawling, eventful play begins with the death of a certain Mr. Whitefield in early twentieth-century England. We never meet or see Whitefield himself at all-instead, the play's events track the consequences of his death. The first of these consequences comes from a dispute over the guardianship of Whitefield's daughter, Ann. Ann is a clever, relentless, and wildly manipulative young woman, and her father's will stipulates that she be left in the care of not one but two men. One of these men is Roebuck Ramsden, a cautious, respectable family friend who has long acted as a kind of grandfather figure for Ann. The other man, Jack Tanner, is a socialist firebrand and the author of a controversial guide to revolutionary politics. Ann is closer to Tanner's age, and the two are old friends who have had a falling-out. However, when they are left alone, the two flirt wildly. This is particularly shocking because Tanner's close friend Octavius is in love with Ann, and expects to marry her. Meanwhile, Tanner and Ramsden can't stand each other-Tanner thinks Ramsden is a hypocrite, and Ramsden thinks Tanner is obnoxious. Ann, instead of choosing one of these men to be her guardian, insists that they work together to care for her, as her father wished. Ann's mother Mrs. Whitefield is present as well, but she is a somewhat weak-willed person who tends to cave to her daughter's intense behaviors. To this volatile mix, another character is added: Octavius's sister Violet. While Octavius is a romantic aspiring poet, we soon learn that his sister is a blunt, practical young woman. She arrives at Ramsden's house, where the others are gathered, with the news that she is pregnant. In these conservative times, the news is considered shocking, especially since the others believe that she's pregnant out of wedlock. However, Violet reports, she's actually secretly married. She refuses to tell the others who her husband is, and she refuses to leave the country in order to hide her pregnancy. The others are left in the dark, but the audience soon learns that Violet is married to a wealthy American acquaintance named Hector Malone. Both Malone and Violet disappear for much of the second half of the play, returning at the end.