The Confidential Clerk
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The Confidential Clerk is a comic verse play by T. S. Eliot.
Synopsis
Sir Claude Mulhammer, a wealthy entrepreneur, decides to smuggle his illegitimate son Colby into the household by employing him as his confidential clerk. He hopes that his eccentric wife, Lady Elizabeth Mulhammer, will take a liking to the boy and allow him to live as her adopted son. She in fact becomes convinced that Colby is actually her own son. Meanwhile, Lucasta Angel wants to marry B. Kaghan, but neither seems to have any parents at all. A drama of mistaken identity and confusion ensues. The "confidential clerk" of the title refers both to Colby, in his new job, and Eggerson, Sir Claude's old clerk who is seen retiring at the start of the play but returns in the final act to resolve the situation.
Characters and original cast
London | New York | |
---|---|---|
Sir Claude Mulhammer | Paul Rogers | Claude Rains |
Eggerson | Alan Webb | Newton Blick |
Colby Simpkins | Denholm Elliott | Douglass Watson |
B. Kaghan | Peter Jones | Richard Newton |
Lucasta Angel | Margaret Leighton | Joan Greenwood |
Lady Elizabeth Mulhammer | Isabel Jeans | Ina Claire |
Mrs Guzzard | Alison Leggatt | Aline MacMahon |
- Source: Play text.[1]
Productions
T. S. Eliot's penultimate play premiered at the
The play was first published as a book by Faber and Faber Ltd, London, in 1954.[1]
References
Sources
- Eliot, T. S. (1967) [1954]. The Confidential Clerk. London: Faber & Faber. OCLC 1067563343.