Overview

A singular play that begins in the parlor of a professor of philology where two men are listening to a dramatic reading of a third's play. Donald is kind in his remarks; the other, Philip, asserts that he found the play incredible, especially at the point where the protagonist commits suicide. Arguing for credibility, John, the playwright, reenacts the scene again, this time with a live gun, and accidentally blows his brains out. This sets the scene for a gathering with the dead man's fiancee Celia, and vulgar, supercilious novelist Braham Head, who is contemptuous of all work excepting his own. This party ends with the novelist captivating Celia, and even the philanthropist obliging by going to bed with her.