The Old Boy

by A.R. Gurney

Sam, a successful politician and diplomat, is invited to speak at the dedication of a new building named for his old school friend, Perry, and paid for by Perry's wealthy mother. The knowledge that Perry died of AIDS galvanizes Sam as memories of his own homophobic response to Perry's sexuality are played out in flashback. Sam's solution had been to arrange a marriage between Perry and one of Sam's discarded girlfriends, Alison. Faced now with the embittered Alison and a dawning sense of his own complicity in Perry's fate, Sam must decide whether or not to speak out on the issue of tolerance and jeopardize his chance for the governorship. He has to choose between his conscience and the old boy network which has served him so well.

72 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

A.R. Gurney was an American playwright and novelist.