[2] The play follows protagonist James Whelan through his journey to success, while dealing with his complicated relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Nan.
[3] A sunny sheltered spot on the outskirts of an Irish town—Killbeggan, Early summer Act I begins with Nan, Kate, Bill, and Tom chattering about the job prospect in Dublin, and whether or not James got it.
The scene ends with James planning a big goodbye, asking Kate to bring everyone to the train before he leaves.
Meanwhile, there is a talk between Tom and Apollo about James' need to choose a wife, discussing both Kate and Nora.
James offers her a demeaning and laborious job, scrubbing and tending to the fire, yet he condemns her for having no dignity in accepting this type of work.
James takes pity on Nan and offers her the position as bookkeeper again, before swiftly exiting and punching Bill in the street.
In 1942, Deevy submitted Wife to James Whelan to the Abbey Theatre, where six of her previous works had been well-received.
The Wild Goose, her sixth play, had been performed in 1935 when the Abbey became the first subsidized theatre in the English speaking world.
He wrote to Deevy explaining that its characters closely resembled those in another one of her plays, Katie Roche, and therefore it would not be a financial possibility.
[2] The Republic of Ireland was established in 1937, and the rise of a conservative Fianna Fáil party led to increased censorship — the Abbey was subsidized and therefore needed to be in accordance with the government.
[6] Many consider the political undertones in Wife to James Whelan and Ireland's new barring of women in the workforce outlined in the 1937 Constitution as the reason for Blythe's rejection.
[2] The rejection of Wife to James Whelan marked the end of Deevy's relationship with the Abbey and the beginning of a shift to conservative ideologies by the theatre.
The Mint Theater Company in New York City first performed the play in 2010, after Deevy's nephew discovered the script in the 1990s.
[3] The production process included a fully staged production, directed by Jonathan Bank, with well-researched program notes, post-performance discussions, audio and video recordings, a publication of Deevy's collected works, and an academic conference with Trinity College Dublin.
"[9] The piece received its British premiere at the New Diorama Theatre in London in 2011 directed by Gavin McAlinden and was Critics' Choice in The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent on Sunday.