Her Husband's Wife: A Comedy in Three Acts

New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1914. Hardcover. Near Fine. First edition. Small octavo. Papercovered boards with printed spine-labels. A clipped newspaper image of Thomas has been affixed at the half-title, some toning on the spine, else near fine lacking the dust jacket. Ownership Signature of Barrett H. Clark dated in 1914. Additionally Inscribed by Thomas at a later date: "To Barrett Clark - my first and, I fear, my best play. Cordially, A. E. Thomas. May 3 1933." Despite his apparent self-deprecation, Thomas went on to have a successful career as a playwright. No fewer than four short films were released with this title within two years of this publication (but not crediting Thomas). Barrett H. Clark was an exceptionally important figure in modern American drama: aside from authoring and translating many plays, he served as the longtime literary editor for the drama publisher Samuel French, as well as director of the Drama League of America. He helped guide playwrights, such as Eugene O’Neill and Maxwell Anderson, and encouraged American dramatists to tell real stories of working-class people, using language derived from everyday life. An uncommon title.