The Blazing Comet: The Mad Lovers; or, The
Beauties
of the Poets.
Cambridge History of English Literature - 1908 - v10
(Covent garden.
) (Anon.
)
1793. The Rival Sisters. T. Adapted for Theatrical Representation,
(Drury lane. )
1798. Arminius. T.
1786. Works [dramatic). 7 vols. [Vol. iy contains The Choice, acted 1764,
and News from Parnassus, acted 1776, apparently not previously printed. ]
B. Other Works
1762. An Essay on the Life and Genius of Henry Fielding. [In vol. 1 of
Works of Henry Fielding, 4 vols. ]
1793. An Essay on the Life and Genius of Samuel Johnson, LL. D. (In
vol. 1 of Works of Samuel Johnson, 6 vols. , Dublin. ]
1801. The Life of David Garrick, Esq. 2 vols.
1811. The Life of Arthur Murphy, Esq. By Jessé Foot, Esq. his executor.
I
Mrs Frances Sheridan (1724-1766)
[Mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan)
A. Plays
1763. The Discovery. C. (Drury lane. ) Written by the Editor of Miss
Sidney Bidulph.
1764. The Dupe. C. (Drury lane. ). . . By the Author of The Discovery.
B. Other Works
1761. Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph. (A novel. ] 2 vols. Dublin.
1767. The History of Nourjahad. By the Editor of Sidney Bidulph.
Lefanu, Alicia Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mrs Frances
Sheridan . . . by her grand-daughter. 1824.
James Thomson (1700-1748)
See bibliography to chap. v, post.
Richard Tickell (1751-1793)
1778. The Camp. A musical entertainment,
1781. The Carnival of Venice.
James Townley (1714-1778)
1759. High Life Below Stairs. F. of two acts. (Drury lane. ) (Anon. )
William Whitehead (1715-1785)
1750. The Roman Father. T. (Drury lane. )
1754. Creusa, Queen of Athens. T. (Drury lane. )
1762. The School for Lovers. C. (Drury lane. ) By William Whitehead,
Esq; Poet Laureat.
1770. A Trip to Scotland. (Drury lane. ) (Anon. )
1774. Plays and Poems. 2 vols.
Edward Young
See bibliography to chap. VII, post.
## p. 439 (#465) ############################################
Chapter IV
439
II. ENGLISH ADAPTATIONS OF VOLTAIRE
Performed on the English Stage, 1734–1776
1735 [acted 1734]. Junius Brutus. T. (Drury lane. ) [Brutus, adapted by
William Duncombe. ]
1736. The Tragedy of Zara. (Drury lane. ) (Zaire, adapted by Aaron
Hill. ]
1736. Alzira. T. (Lincoln's inn fields. ) [Alzire, adapted by Aaron Hill. )
1744. Mahomet the Imposter. T. (Drury lane. ) [Le Fanatisme, ou
Mahomet le Prophète, adapted by James Miller and (? ) John Hoadly,
to whom is ascribed the fifth act. ]
1749. Meropé [sic]. T. (Drury lane. ) [Mérope, adapted by Aaron Hill. ]
1759. The Orphan of China. T. (Drury lane. ) [Orphelin de la Chine,
adapted by Arthur Murphy. )
1760. The English Merchant. c. (Drury lane. ) [L'Ecossaise, adapted by
George Colman, the elder. ]
1764. No One's Enemy but His Own. C. in three acts. (Covent garden. )
[L’Indiscret, altered by Arthur Murphy. ]
1765. Mahomet the Imposter. T. (Drury lane. ) [James Miller's 1744
version, altered by (? ) Garrick. ]
(1769 acted. Orestes. [Oreste, adapted by Thomas Francklin, and acted at
Covent garden, but not printed separately. Included in his translation
of Voltaire's Works. ])
1771. Almida. T. (Drury lane. ) By a Lady. [Tancrède, adapted by
Dorothea (Mallet) Celesia. ]
1771. Zobeide. T. (Covent garden. ) [Les Scythes, adapted by Joseph
Cradock. ]
1776. Semiramis. T. (Drury lane. ) [Sémiramis, adapted by George
Edward Ayscough. ]
In addition to translations and adaptations of Voltaire quoted above, other
English dramas show his influence, notably, e. g. , John Hoole's Cyrus (1768),
Arthur Murphy's Alzuma (1773). For a full discussion of Voltaire's relation
to English drama see Lounsbury, T. R. , Shakespeare and Voltaire, New York
and London, 1902. See also Ballantyne, A. , Voltaire's Visit to England,
1726–9, 1893, and Collins, J. Churton, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau in
England, 1908. (Revised from Bolingbroke, a Historical Study, and Vol-
taire in England, 1886. ) For a full bibliography of Voltaire, see that by
Anderson, J. P. , in Espinasse, F. , Life of Voltaire (Great Writers Series),
1892.
III. MINOR DRAMATIC PIECES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE PERIOD
Clive, Mrs Catherine. The Rehearsal: or, Bays in Petticoats. C. in two
acts. (Drury lane. ) 1753.
Coffey, Charles. The Devil to Pay; or, The Wives Metamorphos’d. 0.
(Drury lane. ) 1731.
Dodsley, Robert. The Toy Shop. A Dramatick Satire. By Robert Dodsley,
Author of The Art of Charming. 1735.
For full bibliography, see Robert Dodsley, Poet, Publisher and Play-
wright, by Straus, R. , London and New York, 1910.
Johnson, Samuel (of Cheshire). Hurlothrumbo: or, The Super-Natural.
(New Theatre, Haymarket. ) 1729.
The Blazing Comet: The Mad Lovers; or, The Beauties of the Poets.
A Play. (New Theatre, Haymarket. ) 1732.
## p. 440 (#466) ############################################
440
Bibliography
Miller, James. The Humours of Oxford. C. As it is Acted at the Theatre-
Royal. . . . By a Gentleman of Wadham-College. 1730.
For Miller's Mahomet the Imposter see sec. II, ante (English
Adaptations of Voltaire).
Reed, Joseph. The Register Office. F. of two acts. 1761.
Pantomimes, etc.
A Dramatic Entertainment, call’d The Necromancer: or, Harlequin, Doctor
Faustus. (Lincoln's inn fields. ) 6th edn. 1724.
Argentina Strega per Amore: or Harlequin Multiply'd by Argentina's
Witchcraft, for Love. With their wonderful Flights and Apparitions ;
and the Magick Transformation of Silvio, Cittio, and Brighella. C.
(Haymarket. ) By the Company of Italian Comedians. 1726.
Perseus and Andromeda. With The Rape of Colombine: or, The Flying
Lovers. In five interludes; three Serious, and two Comic. The Serious
compos'd by Mons. Roger, and the Comic by Mr John Weaver, Dancing-
Masters. 1728.
Merlin, or The Devil of Stone-henge. An Entertainment. 1734. [Intro-
duces Harlequin. ]
A New Dramatic Entertainment called The Royal Chace; or, Merlin's Cave.
With several new Comic Scenes of Action introduced into the Grotesque
Pantomime of Jupiter and Europa. 1736.
Orpheus and Eurydice. 0. (Covent garden. ) Music by Lampe, J. F. 1739.
[Comic characters include Harlequin, Pantaloon, Colombine, etc. )
Harlequin Student: or The Fall of Pantomime, with the Restoration of the
Drama; an Entertainment, As it is now performing . . . at the late Theatre
in Goodman's Fields. With the Scenes of Action and Tricks . . . Also, A
Description of the Scenes and Machines. . . And the Words of the Songs
and Chorus's. 1741.
Harlequin Sorcerer: with the Loves of Pluto and Proserpine. (Covent
garden. ) 1752.
[Acted originally at Lincoln's inri fields, 1725. Words by Lewis
Theobald. ]
O'Hara, Kane. Midas; an English Burletta. (Covent garden. ) 1764.
The Golden Pippin: an English Burletta, in three acts. (Covent
garden. ) 1773.
Reed, Joseph. Tom Jones. C. O. (Covent garden. ) 1769. (Founded on
Fielding's novel. ]
I
IV. CONTEMPORARY AND EARLY COLLECTIONS OF PLAYS
(In chronological order)
This list excludes contemporary collections (e. g. Dodsley's) which
are confined to earlier English dramas.
A Select Collection of English Plays. 6 vols. Edinburgh. 1755.
A Select Collection of Farces, As Acted at London and Edinburgh. Edin-
burgh, 1762.
The English Theatre. . . . Containing the most valuable Plays which have been
acted on the London Stage. 8 vols. 1765.
The Theatre: or, Select Works of the British Dramatic Poets. . . . To which
are prefixed, the Lives of these celebrated Writers, and Strictures on
Most of the Plays. 12 vols. Edinburgh, 1768.
A Collection of New Plays by Several Hands. 4 vols. Altenburg, 1774-8.
## p. 441 (#467) ############################################
Chapter IV
441
The New English Theatre. . . containing the Most Valuable Plays which have
been Acted on the London Stage. 12 vols. 1776-7. [Separate plays
variously dated, 1775-88. ]
Bell's British Theatre, Consisting of the most esteemed English Plays.
24 vols. 1776, etc. 34 vols. 1791, etc.
A Collection of the most esteemed Farces and Entertainments performed on
the British Stage. A new edition. 6 vols. Edinburgh, 1786-8.
[Parsons's] The Minor Theatre: being a Collection of the most approved
Farces, Operas, and Comedies, in one, two, and three acts. With some
account of the respective authors. 7 vols. 1794.
Jones's British Theatre. 10 vols. Dublin, 1795. [Individual plays with
separate title-pages and pagination. ]
The British Drama; comprehending the best plays in the English language
[edited by Sir Walter Scott]. 3 vols. in 5 (vol. I, Tragedies, in two
parts; vol. 11, Comedies, in two parts; vol. 111, Operas and Farces]. 1804.
Sharpe's British Theatre. 18 vols. 1804.
The British Theatre; or, A Collection of Plays. . . with biographical and
critical remarks, by Mrs Inchbald. 25 vols. 1808.
A Collection of Farces and other Afterpieces. . . selected by Mrs Inchbald.
7 vols. 1809. [Another edn. 7 vols. 1815. ]
English Comedy: a Collection of the Most Celebrated Dramas, since the
Commencement of the Reformation of the Stage by Sir Richard Steele
and Colley Cibber. 6 vols. 1810.
The Modern British Drama. 5 vols. 1811.
The British Drama, a Collection of the most Esteemed Dramatic Productions,
with Biography of the Respective Authors; and Critique on each Play,
by Richard Cumberland, Esq. 14 vols. 1817.
Oxberry's New English Drama. 20 vols. 1818-25.
The British Drama, a Collection of the most esteemed [engraved title-
page reads 'approved'] Tragedies, Comedies, Operas, and Farces, in
the English Language. 2 vols. , 1824-6; 2 vols. , Philadelphia, 1837-8;
and other later edns.
Dolby's British Theatre. [Individual plays variously dated, 1823-5; frontis-
piece, 'published, Feb. 1825. '] [Bound in 7 vols. , unnumbered. ] 1825.
Cumberland's British Theatre, with Remarks, Biographical and Critical.
43 vols. 1826, etc.
British Theatre, comprising Tragedies, Comedies, Operas, and Faroes, from
the most classic writers; with Biography, Critical Account and Explana-
tory Notes by an Englishman ((? ) Owen Williams). Leipzig, 1828.
The London Stage; a Collection of the most reputed Tragedies, Comedies,
Operas, Melo-Dramas, Farces, and Interludes. Accurately printed from
acting copies, as performed at the Theatres Royal, and carefully collated
and revised. [Bound in 4 vols. ] [1830. ]
V. COLLECTIONS OF PROLOGUES AND EPILOGUES
(In chronological order)
The Court of Thespis; being a Collection of the most admired Prologues
and Epilogues. . . Written by some of the most Approved Wits of the
Age, viz. Garrick, Colman, Foote, Murphy, Lloyd, &c. 1769.
A Collection and Selection of English Prologues and Epilogues. Commencing
with Shakespeare and concluding with Garrick.
1793. The Rival Sisters. T. Adapted for Theatrical Representation,
(Drury lane. )
1798. Arminius. T.
1786. Works [dramatic). 7 vols. [Vol. iy contains The Choice, acted 1764,
and News from Parnassus, acted 1776, apparently not previously printed. ]
B. Other Works
1762. An Essay on the Life and Genius of Henry Fielding. [In vol. 1 of
Works of Henry Fielding, 4 vols. ]
1793. An Essay on the Life and Genius of Samuel Johnson, LL. D. (In
vol. 1 of Works of Samuel Johnson, 6 vols. , Dublin. ]
1801. The Life of David Garrick, Esq. 2 vols.
1811. The Life of Arthur Murphy, Esq. By Jessé Foot, Esq. his executor.
I
Mrs Frances Sheridan (1724-1766)
[Mother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan)
A. Plays
1763. The Discovery. C. (Drury lane. ) Written by the Editor of Miss
Sidney Bidulph.
1764. The Dupe. C. (Drury lane. ). . . By the Author of The Discovery.
B. Other Works
1761. Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph. (A novel. ] 2 vols. Dublin.
1767. The History of Nourjahad. By the Editor of Sidney Bidulph.
Lefanu, Alicia Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mrs Frances
Sheridan . . . by her grand-daughter. 1824.
James Thomson (1700-1748)
See bibliography to chap. v, post.
Richard Tickell (1751-1793)
1778. The Camp. A musical entertainment,
1781. The Carnival of Venice.
James Townley (1714-1778)
1759. High Life Below Stairs. F. of two acts. (Drury lane. ) (Anon. )
William Whitehead (1715-1785)
1750. The Roman Father. T. (Drury lane. )
1754. Creusa, Queen of Athens. T. (Drury lane. )
1762. The School for Lovers. C. (Drury lane. ) By William Whitehead,
Esq; Poet Laureat.
1770. A Trip to Scotland. (Drury lane. ) (Anon. )
1774. Plays and Poems. 2 vols.
Edward Young
See bibliography to chap. VII, post.
## p. 439 (#465) ############################################
Chapter IV
439
II. ENGLISH ADAPTATIONS OF VOLTAIRE
Performed on the English Stage, 1734–1776
1735 [acted 1734]. Junius Brutus. T. (Drury lane. ) [Brutus, adapted by
William Duncombe. ]
1736. The Tragedy of Zara. (Drury lane. ) (Zaire, adapted by Aaron
Hill. ]
1736. Alzira. T. (Lincoln's inn fields. ) [Alzire, adapted by Aaron Hill. )
1744. Mahomet the Imposter. T. (Drury lane. ) [Le Fanatisme, ou
Mahomet le Prophète, adapted by James Miller and (? ) John Hoadly,
to whom is ascribed the fifth act. ]
1749. Meropé [sic]. T. (Drury lane. ) [Mérope, adapted by Aaron Hill. ]
1759. The Orphan of China. T. (Drury lane. ) [Orphelin de la Chine,
adapted by Arthur Murphy. )
1760. The English Merchant. c. (Drury lane. ) [L'Ecossaise, adapted by
George Colman, the elder. ]
1764. No One's Enemy but His Own. C. in three acts. (Covent garden. )
[L’Indiscret, altered by Arthur Murphy. ]
1765. Mahomet the Imposter. T. (Drury lane. ) [James Miller's 1744
version, altered by (? ) Garrick. ]
(1769 acted. Orestes. [Oreste, adapted by Thomas Francklin, and acted at
Covent garden, but not printed separately. Included in his translation
of Voltaire's Works. ])
1771. Almida. T. (Drury lane. ) By a Lady. [Tancrède, adapted by
Dorothea (Mallet) Celesia. ]
1771. Zobeide. T. (Covent garden. ) [Les Scythes, adapted by Joseph
Cradock. ]
1776. Semiramis. T. (Drury lane. ) [Sémiramis, adapted by George
Edward Ayscough. ]
In addition to translations and adaptations of Voltaire quoted above, other
English dramas show his influence, notably, e. g. , John Hoole's Cyrus (1768),
Arthur Murphy's Alzuma (1773). For a full discussion of Voltaire's relation
to English drama see Lounsbury, T. R. , Shakespeare and Voltaire, New York
and London, 1902. See also Ballantyne, A. , Voltaire's Visit to England,
1726–9, 1893, and Collins, J. Churton, Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau in
England, 1908. (Revised from Bolingbroke, a Historical Study, and Vol-
taire in England, 1886. ) For a full bibliography of Voltaire, see that by
Anderson, J. P. , in Espinasse, F. , Life of Voltaire (Great Writers Series),
1892.
III. MINOR DRAMATIC PIECES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE PERIOD
Clive, Mrs Catherine. The Rehearsal: or, Bays in Petticoats. C. in two
acts. (Drury lane. ) 1753.
Coffey, Charles. The Devil to Pay; or, The Wives Metamorphos’d. 0.
(Drury lane. ) 1731.
Dodsley, Robert. The Toy Shop. A Dramatick Satire. By Robert Dodsley,
Author of The Art of Charming. 1735.
For full bibliography, see Robert Dodsley, Poet, Publisher and Play-
wright, by Straus, R. , London and New York, 1910.
Johnson, Samuel (of Cheshire). Hurlothrumbo: or, The Super-Natural.
(New Theatre, Haymarket. ) 1729.
The Blazing Comet: The Mad Lovers; or, The Beauties of the Poets.
A Play. (New Theatre, Haymarket. ) 1732.
## p. 440 (#466) ############################################
440
Bibliography
Miller, James. The Humours of Oxford. C. As it is Acted at the Theatre-
Royal. . . . By a Gentleman of Wadham-College. 1730.
For Miller's Mahomet the Imposter see sec. II, ante (English
Adaptations of Voltaire).
Reed, Joseph. The Register Office. F. of two acts. 1761.
Pantomimes, etc.
A Dramatic Entertainment, call’d The Necromancer: or, Harlequin, Doctor
Faustus. (Lincoln's inn fields. ) 6th edn. 1724.
Argentina Strega per Amore: or Harlequin Multiply'd by Argentina's
Witchcraft, for Love. With their wonderful Flights and Apparitions ;
and the Magick Transformation of Silvio, Cittio, and Brighella. C.
(Haymarket. ) By the Company of Italian Comedians. 1726.
Perseus and Andromeda. With The Rape of Colombine: or, The Flying
Lovers. In five interludes; three Serious, and two Comic. The Serious
compos'd by Mons. Roger, and the Comic by Mr John Weaver, Dancing-
Masters. 1728.
Merlin, or The Devil of Stone-henge. An Entertainment. 1734. [Intro-
duces Harlequin. ]
A New Dramatic Entertainment called The Royal Chace; or, Merlin's Cave.
With several new Comic Scenes of Action introduced into the Grotesque
Pantomime of Jupiter and Europa. 1736.
Orpheus and Eurydice. 0. (Covent garden. ) Music by Lampe, J. F. 1739.
[Comic characters include Harlequin, Pantaloon, Colombine, etc. )
Harlequin Student: or The Fall of Pantomime, with the Restoration of the
Drama; an Entertainment, As it is now performing . . . at the late Theatre
in Goodman's Fields. With the Scenes of Action and Tricks . . . Also, A
Description of the Scenes and Machines. . . And the Words of the Songs
and Chorus's. 1741.
Harlequin Sorcerer: with the Loves of Pluto and Proserpine. (Covent
garden. ) 1752.
[Acted originally at Lincoln's inri fields, 1725. Words by Lewis
Theobald. ]
O'Hara, Kane. Midas; an English Burletta. (Covent garden. ) 1764.
The Golden Pippin: an English Burletta, in three acts. (Covent
garden. ) 1773.
Reed, Joseph. Tom Jones. C. O. (Covent garden. ) 1769. (Founded on
Fielding's novel. ]
I
IV. CONTEMPORARY AND EARLY COLLECTIONS OF PLAYS
(In chronological order)
This list excludes contemporary collections (e. g. Dodsley's) which
are confined to earlier English dramas.
A Select Collection of English Plays. 6 vols. Edinburgh. 1755.
A Select Collection of Farces, As Acted at London and Edinburgh. Edin-
burgh, 1762.
The English Theatre. . . . Containing the most valuable Plays which have been
acted on the London Stage. 8 vols. 1765.
The Theatre: or, Select Works of the British Dramatic Poets. . . . To which
are prefixed, the Lives of these celebrated Writers, and Strictures on
Most of the Plays. 12 vols. Edinburgh, 1768.
A Collection of New Plays by Several Hands. 4 vols. Altenburg, 1774-8.
## p. 441 (#467) ############################################
Chapter IV
441
The New English Theatre. . . containing the Most Valuable Plays which have
been Acted on the London Stage. 12 vols. 1776-7. [Separate plays
variously dated, 1775-88. ]
Bell's British Theatre, Consisting of the most esteemed English Plays.
24 vols. 1776, etc. 34 vols. 1791, etc.
A Collection of the most esteemed Farces and Entertainments performed on
the British Stage. A new edition. 6 vols. Edinburgh, 1786-8.
[Parsons's] The Minor Theatre: being a Collection of the most approved
Farces, Operas, and Comedies, in one, two, and three acts. With some
account of the respective authors. 7 vols. 1794.
Jones's British Theatre. 10 vols. Dublin, 1795. [Individual plays with
separate title-pages and pagination. ]
The British Drama; comprehending the best plays in the English language
[edited by Sir Walter Scott]. 3 vols. in 5 (vol. I, Tragedies, in two
parts; vol. 11, Comedies, in two parts; vol. 111, Operas and Farces]. 1804.
Sharpe's British Theatre. 18 vols. 1804.
The British Theatre; or, A Collection of Plays. . . with biographical and
critical remarks, by Mrs Inchbald. 25 vols. 1808.
A Collection of Farces and other Afterpieces. . . selected by Mrs Inchbald.
7 vols. 1809. [Another edn. 7 vols. 1815. ]
English Comedy: a Collection of the Most Celebrated Dramas, since the
Commencement of the Reformation of the Stage by Sir Richard Steele
and Colley Cibber. 6 vols. 1810.
The Modern British Drama. 5 vols. 1811.
The British Drama, a Collection of the most Esteemed Dramatic Productions,
with Biography of the Respective Authors; and Critique on each Play,
by Richard Cumberland, Esq. 14 vols. 1817.
Oxberry's New English Drama. 20 vols. 1818-25.
The British Drama, a Collection of the most esteemed [engraved title-
page reads 'approved'] Tragedies, Comedies, Operas, and Farces, in
the English Language. 2 vols. , 1824-6; 2 vols. , Philadelphia, 1837-8;
and other later edns.
Dolby's British Theatre. [Individual plays variously dated, 1823-5; frontis-
piece, 'published, Feb. 1825. '] [Bound in 7 vols. , unnumbered. ] 1825.
Cumberland's British Theatre, with Remarks, Biographical and Critical.
43 vols. 1826, etc.
British Theatre, comprising Tragedies, Comedies, Operas, and Faroes, from
the most classic writers; with Biography, Critical Account and Explana-
tory Notes by an Englishman ((? ) Owen Williams). Leipzig, 1828.
The London Stage; a Collection of the most reputed Tragedies, Comedies,
Operas, Melo-Dramas, Farces, and Interludes. Accurately printed from
acting copies, as performed at the Theatres Royal, and carefully collated
and revised. [Bound in 4 vols. ] [1830. ]
V. COLLECTIONS OF PROLOGUES AND EPILOGUES
(In chronological order)
The Court of Thespis; being a Collection of the most admired Prologues
and Epilogues. . . Written by some of the most Approved Wits of the
Age, viz. Garrick, Colman, Foote, Murphy, Lloyd, &c. 1769.
A Collection and Selection of English Prologues and Epilogues. Commencing
with Shakespeare and concluding with Garrick.
