An affecting play by the author of "Please Don't Eat the Daisies", with both the original play as written, and the final version that appeared on stage. Richard is a poet who has become nationally celebrated for an elegy he wrote for his beloved wife, who has recently died. His editor tries to lift him from his mourning, and his conviction that his poem and the love that inspired it are frauds. His editor's secretary tries to convince Richard that she is the antidote for his grief and that he should marry her. As contrived as this plot reads, Jean Kerr has done a fine job of bringing credibility and pathos to her play. There are slight differences in dialogue between the written and stage versions, and a couple of major changes in the conclusion that almost make them two different plays. I prefer Jean Kerr's written version. The book includes photographs from the Broadway play, with a young Gene Hackman and Alan Bates as the editor and Richard. ( )

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