The love between a mother and daughter turns to jealousy and bitterness in this intense and personal drama.
Ann Prentice falls in love with Richard Caulfield and hopes for a new life and happiness. Only her daughter, Sarah, takes an instant jealous dislike to him. Resentment slowly corrodes their relationship as each seeks comfort in the formidable and knowing Dame Laura Whitstable who remarks, “the trouble with sacrifice is that once its made its not over and done with.”
The play, whose writing predates that of the novel of the same name, premiered on 9th July 1956, at the Theatre Royal, Bath. It was billed under the name Westmacott - the pseudonym under which Christie also wrote six semi-autobiographical novels exploring human psychology in greater depth, offering a fascinating insight into Christie’s relationships with her family. Her daughter Rosalind Hicks describes the books as “bittersweet stories about love”.