Young Mrs. Winthrop

   Bronson Howards four-act play opened 9 October 1882 for 190 performances at the Madison Square Theatre, became a fixture in stock theatres well past World War I, and was made into a motion picture twice (1915, 1920). Constance Winthrop, a young social climber, and her businessman husband, Douglas, are obsessed with money and position. Douglas implores Constance to skip a prestigious ball to stay at home with their sick child while he attends to business. When Constance hears rumors of infidelity on Douglas's part, she goes to the ball. Their child dies, a tragic event that leads to a split between them that is only mended by the intercession of Buxton Scott, their kindhearted lawyer, who brings the couple back together by confronting them over their excessive materialism and socializing.