For the nearly two decades between his first hit, “French Without Tears” (1936), and his 1954 play “Separate Tables,” Terence Rattigan was the West End’s most successful playwright: according to Geoffrey Wansell’s 1995 biography, two of his plays ran for more than . . . (Subscription required.)
SOURCE: The New Yorker at 12:00AM on October 10, 2011