The back of the 1954 hardcover edition (I copy I have) has a review by Newsweek, "TLOTC is written with the skill and clinical accuracy that is deeply tinged with pity." True, DP is able to always been astute when it comes to her observations and typically to her observations to her own sex, which are honest and sometimes harsh. It was moving play, which I could see why it was so popular on Broadway in 1953. It was a honest, funny and heartbreaking look into the lives of women who have lost it all and trying to regain what they can.

Also, the play read more of a short story of DP than your standard play. The stage directions read more of prose than directions, which is helpful to the stage and the actors. I was completely absorbed in the directions and got annoyed went characters were speaking, which I forgave because they were witty.