Independent Means is a stage play written by Stanley Houghton, a leading member of the Manchester School of dramatists.
It was chosen by Annie Horniman to open the second season at the Gaiety Theatre, Manchester, on 30 August 1909.
Jane the maid prepares a room for them, and Samuel Ritchie, a family friend and owner of a business retailing cars, visits for dinner.
Edgar is a rich man, living on his investments and spending much time with friends in the club.
His courtship with Sidney had been only for three months and during that time he had not discovered that her political opinions were very different from his; he is a Conservative; she is a left-wing suffragette.
Ritchie calls in, says he has bought the house and offers Sidney a job as a shorthand typist, which she accepts.