How a prolific American playwright navigated a life of literary success and personal tragedy

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Maxwell Anderson was a titan of the American stage, known for his historical dramas and pioneering use of blank verse. Yet, his life was marked by frequent professional firings, a tumultuous personal history, and a legacy that remains preserved in over sixty boxes of archives at the University of Texas.

Born in 1888, Maxwell Anderson was a versatile writer whose career spanned journalism, poetry, and screenwriting. He is perhaps best remembered for his Broadway hits like the 1924 comedy-drama What Price Glory? and his 1933 Pulitzer Prize-winning political play, Both Your Houses. Anderson was one of the few modern dramatists to consistently employ blank verse in his work, a stylistic choice that defined his historical plays, including those focused on the Tudor dynasty and figures like Socrates and George Washington.

Despite his professional acclaim, Anderson’s life was defined by instability. He was fired from multiple teaching and journalism positions early in his career, often due to his pacifist views or public support for conscientious objectors. His personal life was equally fraught. After his first wife, Margaret Haskett, died in 1931, he entered a complex relationship with actress Mab Maynard. Their life together was marked by financial strain and infidelity, eventually ending in Maynard’s suicide in 1953. It was only after her death that their daughter, Hesper, discovered her parents had never actually been married.

Anderson’s later years saw him working with Hollywood legends like Alfred Hitchcock, though his screenplay for the film Vertigo was ultimately rejected. He died in 1959 following a stroke, leaving behind a massive collection of papers, letters, and diaries. Today, these materials are housed at the Harry Ransom Center, offering a window into the mind of a man who wrote of historical giants while living a life of profound, often tragic, human complexity.

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