L'arc-en-ciel

Résumé

from the dust cover: "In her long and prolific writing career, Pearl S. Buck had intimate experience of the theater as well as of book and magazine publishing, as the author of two Broadway plays and a partner in a producing company. Her own knowledge provides the foundation for this witty and revealing novel of the theater. Probing beyond the masks behind which actors, directors, and others hide from their public, from each other, even from themselves, the author seeks and finds for us the human beings who populate this world within a world. The story is told through the eyes of one who comes on the scene as a stranger first to observe, then to participate, but he remains forever amazed. He is Henry Potter, a wealthy New York industrialist. Addicted to theatergoing, but disliking with growing intensity what seems to him drivel on the stage, he determines to back a play of his own choosing. The decision takes over his life like a devouring monster, involving him with individuals who both fascinate and repel him. The triangle of Elena, the amoral star of the play; Aubrey, the young director; and Stella, Aubrey's wife, enmeshes him almost beyond escape."