What happens
In 1929, James Emerson loses his fortune in the Wall Street crash, and his wife Blanche reacts coldly to his ruin. Meanwhile, a letter from Mary Lane reveals a secret romance begun in 1917, when Emerson was a young lieutenant and she a Virginia girl he met at a dance. Their courtship and quiet marriage before he sailed for France are recounted through the letter and its memories. Mary's family disapproves, and she moves to New York to await her husband's return, carrying the news of a child. This Lux Radio Theatre play, starring Ida Lupino and Robert Young, is based on the Universal film Only Yesterday, and the presentation was broadcast on April 16, 1945.
Wall Street and a New York home in October 1929, a Virginia country club and a family home in 1917, and New York in 1918 after the armistice.
Characters: James Emerson, Mary Lane, Julia Warren, Blanche, Jimmy, Deborah, Mrs. Lane, Mr. Lane
Listen for: The 1929 crash scene, where Emerson learns he is ruined, and Mary's letter that brings back their 1917 romance.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.