Penelope

In the glittering drawing-room of Dr. O'Farrell's Mayfair house, W. S. Maugham's Penelope turns marriage, medicine, and social etiquette into a brisk comedy of manners. A mysterious telegram summons an assortment of distinguished guests—Davenport Barlow, Mrs. Golightly, Professor Golightly, and Mr. Beadsworth—only for them to arrive to an oddly managed reception, complete with carefully chosen newspapers and drinks that expose their vanity, habits, and class pretensions. At the center of the play is Penelope herself, witty, strategic, and never quite where she is expected to be. As the comedy unfolds, Penelope and her husband Dickie spar over bills, spending, and appearances, their domestic quarrels revealing a marriage built on affection, manipulation, and sharp intelligence. Meanwhile, Dickie's consulting room becomes a revolving door of interruptions, from practical patients to the flamboyant Mrs. Fergusson, whose flirtation, emotional pressure, and financial schemes entangle him in a web of secrecy and professional compromise. With sparkling dialogue and precise social satire, Penelope delights in the absurd rituals of respectability, the performance of desire, and the comic instability of love, money, and trust. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.