The Fire that Consumes is an English translation of the 1955 play by French dramatist Henry de Montherlant

Henry de Montherlant

Henry de Montherlant or Henry Marie Joseph Frédéric Expedite Millon de Montherlant was a French essayist, novelist and one of the leading French dramatists of the twentieth century.- Works :...

, La Ville dont le Prince est un enfant. The play was translated by Vivian Cox with Bernard Miles

Bernard Miles

Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....

, and staged at the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 Mermaid Theatre

Mermaid Theatre

The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...

 in 1977. The title, literally translated, The City Whose Prince is a Child, is taken from Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...

10:16: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!"

Summary

A Roman Catholic priest, Abbot Pradts is obsessed with Sevrais, one of schoolboys and vies for his attention.