The elder statesman

the long version

Written in free verse, this drawing room drama by the poet and author of The Cocktail Party and Murder In The Cathedral is a revealing character study of one man who has loved not wisely but perhaps too well. Lord Claverton, celebrated and respected in society exerts considerable influence especially over his devoted daughter Monica which angers her beau, Charles. Forced by illness into early retirement, Lord Claverton receives two unexpected visitors-a now dissolute former student and an ex-lover, a wealthy granddame, both of who were led astray in youth by Claverton himself. As these ghosts of his past converge, Claverton is led to a spiritual renewal and dies knowing his daughter will lead a more illuminated life with her husband-to-be.