Cover of The Circle

The Circle

by W. Somerset Maugham

First published
1921
Reading level
Easy
Price
Free

About the book

"The Circle: A Comedy in Three Acts" by W. Somerset Maugham is a play first produced in 1921. A young married woman considers leaving her husband for another man and seeks guidance from an elderly couple who eloped thirty years earlier. What she discovers challenges her romantic ideals about love and sacrifice. Set over one day at a country house, the play explores whether passion justifies abandoning comfort and respectability, featuring unexpected twists that shocked some opening-night audiences with its bold conclusion.

  • Adultery
  • Intergenerational relations
  • England

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #42395. The Circle on Wikipedia.

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