“Art has a lot to answer for.” So says Sarah Bernhardt in Ronald Harwood’s play . Harwood’s own career can be summarized by that same quote as well. offers the first critical analysis of prolific and award-winning British author Ronald Harwood (1934-2020). Though he received an Oscar for , a knighthood, and numerous other awards and nominations, Harwood worked as a ghostwriter, script doctor, and veritable unknown for many years. As he became successful, many critics still misread his works and positioned him as a less-fashionable counterpart to his lifelong friend Harold Pinter. This study proposes a conceptual framework to approach his, and others’, work based on the genre of tragedy, offering a greater appreciation for and understanding of the Harwood canon.