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The wife of a plantation manager in "British Malaysia" shoots a man of their acquaintance while her husband is away from home. She claims that the man she shot had attempted to rape her. Her lawyer supposes that her defense will be rather straightforward until his law clerk informs him that a blackmailer possesses evidence that will incriminate her. The defendant and her lawyer must determine whether it is best to 'explain away' the potentially damning implications of the titular letter or pay the sum demanded for its suppression. The Letter premiered (24 February 1927) at London's Playhouse Theatre where it ran 60 weeks starring Dame Gladys Cooper who was also the play's producer. While in rehearsal Maugham rewrote Act 3 using an innovative flashback to portray events preceding the shooting with which Act 1 opens. Katharine Cornell starred in the Broadway production which opened (26 September 1927) at the Morosco Theatre and ran for 104 performances. This production reverted to the original script, scrapping the flashback in favor of the starring actor's recantation of its events. This audio book production includes both versions of Act 3.
W. Somerset Maugham
W(illiam) Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) British playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, who in 1908 had four plays running simultaneously in the West End, a record at that time. The plays were Lady Frederick at the Court Theatre, Jack Straw at the Vaudeville Theatre, Mrs Dot at the Comedy Theatre, and The Explorer at the Lyric Theatre. His work was noted for its clear style, solid construction, and shrewd perception of human nature. Between 1898 and 1933 Maugham wrote 27 plays; the first to be produced was Man of Honour in 1904. His successes included Our Betters (1917), a satire on US social-climbers, Home and Beauty (1919), The Circle (1921), East of Suez (1922), The Constant Wife (1926), and the anti-war play For Services Rendered (1932). After the comparative failure of Sheppey, directed by Gielgud in 1933, Maugham decided that he had lost touch with public taste and gave up writing for the theatre. Several of his short stories have been adapted by others for the stage, notably Miss Thompson, dramatized as Rain (1922) by John Colton and Clemence Randolph.
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