The Profligate

"The Profligate " by Arthur Wing Pinero is an English romance play in four acts, set in the 19th century.

Sir Arthur Wing Pinero ( 1855 – 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero wrote his first play in 1877. Seven years later, having written 15 more, three of them highly successful, he abandoned acting and became a full-time playwright. He first became known for a series of farces, of which The Magistrate (1885) was the longest-running. During the 1890s he turned to serious subjects. The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1893), dealing with a woman with a scandalous past, was regarded as shocking, but ran well and made a large profit. His other successes included Trelawny of the «Wells» (1898), a romantic comedy celebrating the theatre, old and new, and The Gay Lord Quex, about a reformed roué and a feisty young woman.