In the play's first production at The 1958 Edinburgh Festival this character bore a strong visual resemblance to the then Premier, Harold Macmillan.
He is hounded by revelations from his past - a man (Gomez), who as a student he led into bad company, a singer (Mrs. Carghill), with whom he had an affair and who was bought off by his father.
Eliot's underlying message is that these two people are the twin agents of conscience that have come back to constantly remind Claverton of his guilt, of how his public image does not match the real man underneath it.
Gomez, who has made a fortune since then and Mrs. Carghill, who is now a wealthy widow, have both come back to Claverton's life as agents of Eliot's message.
The first run was produced by Henry Sherek and directed by E. Martin Browne,[2] This first production was part of the Edinburgh Festival 1958.