Jack Straw: A Farce in Three Acts

"Jack Straw: A Farce in Three Acts" by W. Somerset Maugham is a play written in the early 20th century. This comedic work revolves around themes of social class, deception, and the folly of pretentiousness, focusing particularly on the character Jack Straw, a clever and resourceful man who assumes the identity of a royal figure. The opening of the play introduces the lounge of the Grand Babylon Hotel, where a conversation unfolds between Lady Wanley and Ambrose Holland about their encounters with the newly wealthy Parker-Jennings family. Lady Wanley recounts how she once introduced them to high society, only to be snubbed by Mrs. Parker-Jennings, raising her status while Wallace’s charm is revealed through the interactions with other characters, setting the stage for the ensuing concoction of a scheme involving Jack Straw impersonating an archduke to expose the snobbery of the Parker-Jennings family. As the characters navigate through the entanglements of their social standing, the tension and humor build, providing a glimpse into the farcical nature of the story. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

William Somerset Maugham was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. He became a medical student in London and qualified as a physician in 1897. He never practised medicine, and became a full-time writer. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897), a study of life in the slums, attracted attention, but it was as a playwright that he first achieved national celebrity. By 1908 he had four plays running at once in the West End of London. He wrote his 32nd and last play in 1933, after which he abandoned the theatre and concentrated on novels and short stories.