About The Shadow of a Doubt

By Mary Chinery, Ph.D. and Laura Rattray, Ph.D.

The Shadow of a Doubt (1901), is an unknown, original three act play by Edith Wharton, recovered in 2016. Although renowned in multiple literary genres during her career, Wharton also wrote a series of now forgotten plays before she published the works that made her famous. Wharton was a lover of plays from her early childhood. As an adult, she enjoyed many types of drama, from the social realism of Henrik Ibsen, the bracing social commentary of George Bernard Shaw, to the wit of Oscar Wilde.

During 1899-1906, Wharton wrote several dramatic works. She published two brief plays called “dialogues” in her first collections of short stories: “The Twilight of the God” in The Greater Inclination (1899) and “Copy” in Crucial Instances (1901). She also completed several full-length plays, including The Tightrope, probably written around 1900, which is now lost. She adapted her favorite novel by Abbé Prévost, Manon Lescaut, at the request of actress Marie Tempest, who thereafter decided to give up costume dramas. Wharton’s translation of Hermann Suderman’s Es Lebe das Leben (The Joy of Living) for George Bernard Shaw’s favorite actress, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, brought Wharton residuals for years, to her surprise. Campbell’s production toured the United States and ended in London, with “adapted by Mrs. Wharton” prominently displayed on the marquee.

By 1900, Wharton was an adept playwright who worked with the best talent on Broadway. The Shadow of a Doubt, produced by Charles Frohman, represented by drama talent agent Elizabeth Marbury, and starring Elsie de Wolfe, was intended as a matinee for The American Academy at the Dramatic Arts and Empire Theatre Dramatic School. It is likely this was a preview for a longer run on Broadway. According to letters from her friend Walter Berry, Wharton attended some rehearsals of The Shadow of a Doubt at The Empire Theatre in New York City, and it is possible she may have worked on revising the manuscript while it was in rehearsal.

The Shadow of a Doubt, set at the turn of the twentieth century London, explores controversial issues of the day, such as social position, remarriage, the roles of women, and euthanasia. Some of these ideas were later reworked in her best-selling novel, The House of Mirth (1905) as well as in the lesser-known novel, The Fruit of the Tree (1907), albeit transferred to American settings.

The Shadow of a Doubt showcases Wharton’s skill with witty repartee, dramatic tension, and superb characterization. The women’s roles are especially strong, with bonds formed across social class and life situation. Kate Treddenis’ station has risen with her marriage to her wealthy late best friend’s widower, John Derwent, but her good fortune seems precarious even as she embraces her new role as wife and stepmother to Sylvia. What will happen when Kate’s past becomes known?

While Wharton moved on to a successful career as a novelist, she never lost interest in dramatic form. She collaborated with Clyde Fitch to stage The House of Mirth in 1906, claiming to her friend Robert Grant that even if the play was not a success, she would not regret the experience. Several of her works were later dramatized by others, including The Age of Innocence (1928) and The Old Maid (1935), for which Zoe Atkins won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Since the discovery of The Shadow of a Doubt, it has been brought to the stage several times for brief runs and readings. But the Shaw Festival’s production represents the first complete run and costumed staging of this significant play. It will no doubt fulfill Edith Wharton’s wish for it to be performed in front of an enthusiastic audience.

Mary Chinery, Ph.D. and Laura Rattray, Ph.D.

To read more about the discovery of this play, look for an article, published in The New Yorker in 2017: “A Lost Edith Wharton Play Emerges from Scholarly Sleuthing” by Rebecca Mead.