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19:
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if so whether to reveal the truth publicly, and whether the old man's fortune properly belongs to
Jenkins's heirs. Royce, to whom Isobel has turned for help, finds documentary proof that Jenkins left everything he had to Blayds. The family is legally in the clear, but the moral issue remains. William continues to maintain Blayds's innocence, and Isobel eventually gives way and agrees to say nothing publicly about her father's confession. At the end of the play she accepts a proposal of marriage from Royce.
107:
265:". Royce has lingering feelings for Isobel Blayds, whom he met 18 years earlier when they were both about 20. She declined his offer of marriage then because she felt she must look after her father. The poet's grandchildren are cheerfully indifferent to his literary reputation, and treat him with affectionate irreverence, to Royce's disapproval.
35:, first performed in London in December 1921. It depicts the turmoil into which the family of a revered poet, Oliver Blayds, is plunged when it emerges immediately after his death that the poetry for which he is famous was in fact written by a friend who died young, leaving numerous poems which Blayds passed off over the years as his own work.
366:
the first act should be the most telling of the three, and it must be admitted that after the grand old fraud has tottered off to his well-earned grave you miss him terribly about the play. But there is no scene in all that remains which is not written with a keen humor and a sure dramatic instinct.
299:
Isobel is bitter at having given up any independent life to look after her fraudulent father. William, who hero-worshipped his father-in-law, is incredulous, and agrees with Oliver that Blayds must have been hallucinating on his deathbed. The family agonise about whether the confession is true, and
365:
When Milne decided that his first act should usher Blayds out of the world and that the other two should watch the explosion of his confession in its effect on the Blayds household he boldly committed himself to a form which was bound to give his play a diminishing interest. It was inevitable that
351:
said, "The play makes admirable comedy, and with the wit and literary finish of its dialogue, its note of sustained irony, its success in raising expectancy in the first act, and developing an interesting idea emotionally in the sequel, stands as quite the best thing Mr Milne has given the stage".
295:
in the 1850s. Jenkins, a young poetic genius, knew he was dying and wrote a prodigious amount of poetry while he had time. After he died, Blayds yielded to the temptation to publish a small amount of
Jenkins's verse under his own name. It was so well received that he continued the deception and
253:, London, the famous poet Oliver Blayds is celebrating his 90th birthday. The literary critic A. L. Royce has come to present an address on behalf of his fellow writers to Blayds, who is regarded as "a very great poet, a very great philosopher and a very great man … simple as
296:
published further batches over the years, gaining a tremendous literary reputation and making a large fortune. The one volume he published of his own verse had been badly reviewed and otherwise his entire poetic oeuvre was the work of his dead friend.
291:. Isobel reveals that on his deathbed Blayds confessed to her that none of the poems for which he is famous were written by him. They were the work of Willoughby Jenkins, a close friend with whom he shared rooms in
284:. After the celebrations, Blayds is left alone with Isobel, who has looked after him all her adult life. He says at ninety there is no going back: "Only forward – into the grave that's waiting for you".
389:
is not Mr Milne's best play, but it does contain the best act that he has ever written. The first act of this play, indeed, is so good that it spoils the balance of the rest of the play".
268:
The family gathers, and after his health is toasted Blayds graciously accepts the address from Royce. He reminisces about his earlier days in
Victorian times with anecdotes about
413:
Vanbrugh and
Boucicault presented the first Australian production during a tour in 1924. The play was revived on Broadway in 1934, with Heggie again in the title role,
405:, commenting that Milne and Coward had both made a mistake, quoted Barrie's remark to Milne: "I think, in your place, I would have kept the old impostor alive".
381:
Later critical opinion has tended to agree with
Woollcott about the balance of the play. Reviewing a provincial production in 1926,
370:
reinforces a dawning suspicion, that this young Mr Milne is the happiest acquisition the
English theatre has made since it captured
341:
praised Milne and the play, commenting that the theme – a family suddenly learning it has been living on a lie – was reminiscent of
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86:, in mind. They accepted it and the play was put into rehearsal, opening on 20 December 1921 at the
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The all-important will: Royce (left), with Marion, Isobel and
William, 1921 London production
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deals with a similar theme of artistic fraud by a deceased fraudster, and the reviewer in
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In the early 1920s A. A. Milne, best known so far for his humorous articles and verses in
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The Blayds family discuss what to do, 1921 London production. Left to right: William (
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The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of
Productions, Performers, and Personnel
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as Isobel. The following year, BBC radio broadcast an adaptation with
676:
On Stage: Selected
Theater Reviews from The New York Times, 1920–1970
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In the second act the family returns from Blayds's funeral at
74:. The title role in that play was played by the actor-manager
697:(fourteenth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.
90:, and running for 121 performances, until 5 April 1922. A
431:
345:, although Milne's humorous take on it was very English.
673:
639:, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 24 April 2021
500:, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 24 April 2021
479:, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 24 April 2021
172:
William Blayds-Conway (his son-in-law and secretary)
60:, was establishing a reputation as a playwright. His
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110:Blayds and Isobel, Act 1, 1921 London production
427:there were no West End revivals of the play.
674:Beckerman, Bernard; Howard Siegman (1973).
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202:Septima Blayds-Conway (his granddaughter)
157:Marion Blayds-Conway (his elder daughter)
98:for 108 performances, from 14 March 1922.
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82:in 1921 with Boucicault and his wife,
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660:, BBC Genome. Retrieved 24 April 2021
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187:Oliver Blayds-Conway (his grandson)
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352:When the play opened on Broadway,
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588:in Beckerman and Siegman, p. 28
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623:"Vanbrugh-Boucicault Season",
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716:. London: Chatto and Windus.
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348:The Illustrated London News
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614:, 21 November 1956, p. 448
597:"The Truth About Blayds",
554:"The Truth About Blayds",
693:Gaye, Freda, ed. (1967).
558:, 21 December 1921, p. 10
434:television in 1948, with
430:The play was adapted for
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118:
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42:run the play was seen on
31:is a three-act comedy by
737:Rowman & Littlefield
695:Who's Who in the Theatre
678:. New York: Quadrangle.
658:"The Truth About Blayds"
637:"The Truth About Blayds"
627:, 3 December 1924, p. 13
498:"The Truth About Blayds"
424:Who's Who in the Theatre
409:Revivals and adaptations
729:Wearing, J. P. (2014).
580:Woolcott, Alexander in
571:, 7 January 1922, p. 32
569:Illustrated London News
421:as Royce. According to
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66:(1919) ran well in the
50:Background and premiere
458:References and sources
387:The Truth About Blayds
368:The Truth About Blayds
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94:production ran at the
80:The Truth About Blayds
28:The Truth About Blayds
23:
710:Milne, A. A. (1930).
601:, 5 August 1926, p. 8
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109:
21:
769:Plays by A. A. Milne
735:. Lanham, Maryland:
181:Ferdinand Gottschalk
545:Milne, pp. 228–263
536:Milne, pp. 218–227
518:Milne, pp. 181–207
475:Wearing, p. 1; and
354:Alexander Woollcott
610:"At the Theatre",
582:The New York Times
567:"The Playhouses",
477:"Mr Pim Passes By"
452:Andrew Cruickshank
359:The New York Times
332:Critical reception
329:
151:Alexandra Carlisle
112:
78:, and Milne wrote
46:and in Australia.
24:
746:978-0-8108-9302-3
685:978-0-81-290363-8
584:, 15 March 1922,
419:Frederick Worlock
289:Westminster Abbey
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323:) and Septima (
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235:Ethel Wellesley
166:Vane Featherston
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63:Mr Pim Passes By
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278:Queen Victoria
257:, sensuous as
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238:Mary Gayley
217:A. L. Royce
136:O. P. Heggie
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713:Three Plays
527:Milne, 216
448:Marda Vanne
446:as Blayds,
436:Henry Oscar
391:Noël Coward
325:Faith Celli
319:), Isobel (
317:Ion Swinley
313:Irene Rooke
311:), Marion (
221:Ion Swinley
206:Faith Celli
161:Irene Rooke
33:A. A. Milne
764:1921 plays
758:Categories
722:1069285640
612:The Tatler
463:References
454:as Royce.
402:The Tatler
255:Wordsworth
191:Jack Hobbs
38:After the
599:The Times
556:The Times
383:The Times
356:wrote in
338:The Times
315:, Royce (
293:Islington
263:Swinburne
122:New York
282:Meredith
274:Whistler
270:Browning
259:Tennyson
232:Parsons
92:Broadway
72:Broadway
68:West End
44:Broadway
40:West End
703:5997224
668:Sources
625:The Age
119:London
70:and on
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720:
701:
682:
586:quoted
376:Barrie
343:Ibsen
57:Punch
741:ISBN
718:OCLC
699:OCLC
680:ISBN
374:and
372:Shaw
280:and
245:Plot
432:BBC
760::
739:.
362::
276:,
272:,
749:.
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378:.
327:)
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