Feydeau’s major farces are universally admired, but relatively few people are familiar with his early work. When Feydeau left school in 1879 he began writing monologues for leading actors and actresses to perform in salons and at charity concerts But by 1882 he had progressed to the one-act play, which he continued to write through his career. The most successful were the four published in this volume, written between 1908 and 1911, and which he always wished to see published together, as they are here, under the title From Marriage to Divorce. The plays are more or less based upon the breakdown of his own marriage.

This volume includes the plays Better Late, One Month Early, Take Your Medicine Like a Man and Don’t Walk About With Nothing On. These translations were commissioned by the BBC.