Sir Claude Mulhammer, a wealthy entrepreneur, decides to smuggle his illegitimate son Colby into the household by employing him as his confidential clerk. He hopes that his eccentric wife, Lady Elizabeth Mulhammer, will take a liking to the boy and allow him to live as her adopted son. She in fact becomes convinced that Colby is actually her own son. Meanwhile, Lucasta Angel wants to marry B. Kaghan, but neither seems to have any parents at all. A drama of mistaken identity and confusion ensues. The “confidential clerk” of the title refers both to Colby, in his new job, and Eggerson, Sir Claude’s old clerk who is seen retiring at the start of the play but returns in the final act to resolve the situation.

First performed in 1953 starring Paul Rogers

Published by Faber

128 pages

Good condition