Overview

Sheppey is the comedy of a Cockney barber who wins a sweepstake.  Contained in a collection of five of Somerset Maugham's plays. 

One of the most admired and widely read authors of the twentieth century, this first volume of Somerset Maugham's collected plays includes Sheppey, his last and best comedy of a Cockney barber who determines to give his sweepstake winnings to the poor; The Sacred Flame gives an unusual note of noir-ish suspense to a moving drama of protective maternal love; The Circle, widely regarded as Maugham's masterpiece, deals wittily with the dilemma of a young woman intent on leaving her pompous husband; in The Constant Wife, an abrasive war-between-the-sexes comedy, his heroine is an early feminist who gains financial and emotional independence from her husband; Our Betters - whose London opening was delayed through fear of lawsuits - exposes the amoral society of an English aristocracy funded by the American heiresses who have bought their way into it.

Maugham's unerring hold over audiences and readers is amply demonstrated by the five plays in this selection.

"Sheppey," his last and one of his very best, is the comedy of a Cockney barber who wins a sweepstake.

"The Sacred Flame" gives an unusual note of noir-ish suspense to a moving drama of protective maternal love.

"The Circle," widely regarded as Maugham's masterpiece, deals wittily with the dilemma of a woman intent on leaving her pompous husband.

In "The Constant Wife," an abrasive, war-between-the-sexes comedy, his heroine is an early feminist.

"Our Betters," whose London opening was delayed through fear of lawsuits, exposes the amoral society of an English aristocracy funded by American heiresses.