Nice and easy story with happy end

Somerset Maugham: Theatre
1937


A nice and easy story about a famous actress middle 40 falling in love with a young man.
Julia Lambert is a celebrated actress in London in the late 1920's, early 1930's. She is even the most talented and the best actress in whole England. But she is 46 years old.

Old... old... old.

One day she meets a young man Tom Fennel, the new bookkeeper of Julia's and her husband's company. The boy is nice and sweet and very self-confident. It's a bit strange for Julia, that Tom doesn’t adore her like a goddess, she is just a new love (new girlfriend) for him. But she enjoys the affair. Tom also enjoys this relationship, he is a real snob, he loves the parties, the dinners, the picnics with important and famous people, with the members of the aristocracy. He loves all this, and not Julia.

So, Julia falls in love with Tom, but Tom falls in love with a young and ambitious actress, Avice Chrichton. The girl doesn't love Tom, he is for her like Julia for Tom, just a chance to get a great life, for a great career.

Meanwhile Julia and Tom broke up, Julia plays in the theatre terribly, she needs some time without acting, and she starts thinking about her life. She have to think about it, even her son criticizes her, she hasn’t a real own character, she is just from the characters she used to play.

In the new season Avice Chrichton gets a role in the new play in Julia's company. It's perfect for Julia to show she is still a great actress, she is even more better then ever, the plan is perfect, and she implements the plan perfectly. She ha a great success. So, it's a story with happy end.