Rediscover the brilliance of Regiment of Women in the Mermaid Collection - classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers.'The Mermaid Collection is so sure footed that you're unlikely to go wrong' India KnightSet in a small town in Edwardian England, Regiment of Women is a page-turning and beguiling novel about the complicated relationship between a teacher and...

"First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth" is a novel by Clemence Dane, a British author known for her work in both drama and fiction. The book is a comedic exploration of personal development and the trials of growing up.The story revolves around the character of Beatrix "Trixie" Clayton, a young woman in her early twenties who is navigating the complexities of adulthood. Trixie is an aspiring writer who is both ambitious and somewhat naïve. Her journey is marked by a series of humorous and in...

The curtain rises on the hall, obviously used as the common-room of a country house. On the right (of the audience) is the outer door and a staircase that runs down from an upper landing towards the middle of the room, half hiding what has once been a separate smaller room with a baize door at the back. In the corner a French window opens on to a snowbound garden. On the left, facing the entrance, a log fire is blazing. Staircase, pictures, grandfather clock, etc., are wreathed with holly ...

The play is structured around Shakespeare’s life in the years leading up to his rise as a playwright and his later success in London. While it is not a strict biographical account, Will Shakespeare provides a dramatic and introspective look at the man behind the iconic works. In four acts, the play alternates between Shakespeare’s personal struggles, his relationships with his family, friends, and colleagues, and his evolving sense of artistic identity.In the first act, Shakespeare is depi...

The play centers on a troubled family caught in the emotional aftermath of a divorce and the consequences of mental illness. The central character is Hilary Fairfield, a woman whose husband, who had been committed to an asylum for many years, is unexpectedly released. The reunion with her estranged husband, who is still emotionally disturbed, forces Hilary to confront past decisions and the disintegration of her marriage.Hilary's struggle becomes even more complicated when her daughter, Ma...

The school secretary pattered down the long corridor and turned into a class-room. The room was a big one. There were old-fashioned casement windows and distempered walls; the modern desks, ranged in double rows, were small and shallow, scarred, and incredibly inky. In the window-seats stood an over-populous fish-bowl, two trays of silkworms, and a row of experimental jam-pots. There were pictures on the walls—The Infant Samuel was paired withCherry Ripe, and Alfred, in the costume of Robi...

If she had not been ill so long it would have been harder. As it was—but there’s no use in writing down that black time. Afterwards I didn’t know what to do. The pension had stopped, of course. I’d managed to teach myself typing, though Mother couldn’t be left much; but I didn’t know shorthand, and I couldn’t get work, and my money was dwindling, and I was getting scared. I was ready to worship Anita when her letter came. She was sorry about Mother and she wanted a secretary. If I could ty...

‘Once upon a time’—and we pull in our deep chairs, you quietly, I with a quick impatient jerk that scrabbles up the hearth-rug and worries your tidy soul. But you yourself have forgotten the blinds! Draw them close, lest the Zeppelins catch us at our story-telling, whilst I put the carpet to rights again and pile up logs (we sawed them ourselves, didn’t we?) upon the fire. One must save the electricity these hard times. And now—you have your knitting and I the fountain-pen you gave me: it ...

The curtain rises on the living room of a sixteenth century cottage. The walls and ceiling are of black beams and white-washed plaster. On the left is a large oven fireplace with logs burning. Beyond it is a door. At the back is another door and a mullioned window half open giving a glimpse of bare garden hedge and winter sky. On the right wall is a staircase running down from the ceiling into the room, a dresser and a light shelf holding a book or two. Under the shelf is a small table pil...

The Complete Works of Clemence DaneThis Complete Collection includes the following titles:--------1 - Regiment of Women2 - Will Shakespeare3 - A Bill of Divorcement: A Play in Three Acts4 - First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth5 - Legend

Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson wrote this British crime tale, "Enter Sir John," in 1928. The story revolves around Martella Baring, a young actress on trial for murder, and Sir John Saumarez, a fellow actor, who takes up her case to prove her innocence. In 1932, they released the sequel film, Re-enter Sir John. The jury has found Martella Baring, a young actress, guilty of the murder of Edna Druce, the wife of the acting firm's manager. As a result of his attendance at the trial, the attr...

On a country house Christmas Day in 1933, Clement Dane's A Bill of Divorcement turns a family gathering into a chamber of emotional reckoning. Beneath the surface of polite conversation, Margaret Fairfield, her troubled husband Hilary, their daughter Sydney, and the formidable Miss Hester confront the wreckage of marriage, separation, and duty in a world reshaped by changing divorce laws. When Gray Meredith, Kit Pumphrey, Dr. Alliot, and the Reverend Christopher Pumphrey enter the orbit of...