Somerset MAUGHAM and the theatrical desires of the Princess of Monaco.
“I must be frank with you: I can be of no use to you. »
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“I must be frank with you: I can be of no use to you. »
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William Somerset Maugham (1874.1965)
Autographed letter signed to Princess Ghislaine of Monaco.
Two octavo pages in French and English.
On letterhead from the Villa Mauresque. Autographed envelope.
St Jean Cap Ferrat. March 5 [1958]
“I must be frank with you: I can be of no use to you. »
A beautiful letter from the British writer diplomatically declining the theatrical demands of the Princess of Monaco.
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"Dear and beautiful Princess, Thank you for your kind letter. Although I speak French well enough to make myself understood, I write it very poorly. Therefore, I will continue in English, confident that you will understand it perfectly."
It is true that I have seen you on the stage, and I am aware that your talent is remarkable. But I must be frank with you: I can be of no use to you. I have not written a play for twenty-five years & my most successful plays were written forty or fifty years ago. The fashion of playwriting has changed very much since I stopped working and my plays now are very dated.
The war has changed audiences and they demand a sort of play which, even in my prime, I could never have written. So all I can do is to wish that you will be fortunate enough to find a play that will show your great gifts to advantage and that it will be very successful. Yours sincerely. W. Somerset Maugham. »
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Translation of the English section: " It is true that I have seen you on stage, and I am aware of your remarkable talent. But I must be frank with you: I can be of no help to you. I have not written a play for twenty-five years, and my most successful plays were written forty or fifty years ago. The fashion for dramatic writing has changed a great deal since I stopped working, and my plays are now very old-fashioned. The war has changed the audience, and it demands a type of play that, even in the prime of life, I could never have written. All I can do, therefore, is wish you the chance to find a play that will showcase your great gifts and achieve great success. Yours sincerely, W. Somerset Maugham."
Ghislaine Dommanget (1900-1991) became, through her marriage to Louis II, Princess Consort of Monaco, from 1946 to 1949. Having begun her acting career alongside Sarah Bernhardt, she returned to the stage at the end of the 1950s in the following plays: Madame Avril (1958), L'Aiglon (1959), and Fleur de petit pois (1960).