The Years Between, a Play by Daphne Du Maurier

The Years Between is a play I've read this month for the Back to the Classics Challenge, hosted by Karen at Books and Chocolate.
Although the play was first performed in November 1944, its publication date is recorded as 1945. The action of the play takes place in 1942 and in 1945 shortly before the war ends in Europe in May.
Deborah and Michael Wentworth are the owners of an estate in the English countryside. They have one son, who is 10 years old. Michael is in the military, and at the beginning of the play, Michael leaves on a mission, only to have his plane crash in the North Sea. When the play opens in 1942, the Wentworth Family is informed that Michael's plane has gone down over the North Sea and he is assumed missing. Months pass and there is no news of survivors.

Michael's seat in Parliament has been left vacant, and soon Deborah decides to fill his seat and serve out his term. She throws herself into the work of governing and receives great satisfaction from it. She and her son are well supported by Richard, a close family friend who owns a neighboring manor house.

I won't let on anything of what happens in Act II, which takes place in 1945, and I've left out much of Act I (1942).
I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this play, especially from a historical viewpoint because it reflects the emotions and issues and politics of some upper-class people in England during World War II, of which Du Maurier was undeniably a member.

The play is illuminating regarding many of the themes and undercurrents in people's lives at this time, such as the following:
Women assuming responsiblities for jobs and positions formerly reserved for men and receiving satisfaction and fulfillment  from them.
The problems of readjustment to the status quo when men return from war in 1945, both at home and in the community, which Du Maurier presents as equally difficult for both those at home and those who were abroad.
The questioning of the nature of intimate connections between husband and wife after spending years apart. (This theme is highlighted and is extremely interesting.)
And last, but not least, opposing viewpoints of wartime socialism in Great Britain, the great experiment, which brings the controversy right to the forefront of the play. Will this new way of organizing and conducting society continue after the war? Will there be support for it to continue by the upper classes? By the rest of Great Britain's citizens? And it becomes clear in the Final Act, the author's doubts about the future of such a society.

If you have an interest in this period in Great Britain's history, I'm sure you would enjoy and be stimulated by this play. I found it to be extremely interesting.

This play is difficult to get a hold of in the U.S. I ended up purchasing a copy from a used and rare books dealer  in Rochester, New York, via Abebooks.com. I'm sure it would be just a bit easier to obtain in the UK.