A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character

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A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character

Name: A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character
Author: Dutton Cook

by Dutton Cook

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Language: en1,130 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Theater -- Great Britain -- History

In: Plays/Films/Dramas·History - British

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #15151.

About this book

This work is a nineteenth‑century compendium of anecdotes, statistics and curiosities about British theatre, assembled by Dutton Cook and first issued in 1876. In the opening pages Cook explains that he is not attempting a grand, systematic history; rather, he follows “by‑paths” and gathers “details and curiosities of histrionic life and character” that have been overlooked by more ambitious chroniclers. He acknowledges a debt to J. Payne Collier’s 1831 History of English Dramatic Poetry and to a host of other scholars, indicating that the book is a collage of quoted passages, condensed revisions and occasional corrections to the first edition. The contents list reads like a tour of the stage world, playgoers, licensers, footlights, costumes, ghosts, benefits and even “the ‘super’ chapter”, promising a wide‑ranging, almost encyclopedic look at the theatre’s social and technical fabric.

The prose is unmistakably Victorian, with a formal, sometimes meandering voice that blends scholarly citation with lively description. Its tone is that of a knowledgeable enthusiast addressing fellow readers who share an appetite for the minutiae of theatrical practice, from the habits of early audiences to the evolution of stagecraft. Readers who enjoy detailed cultural studies, historical footnotes and the texture of 19th‑century literary scholarship, especially those fascinated by the interplay of actors, audiences and the material conditions of the British stage, will find this book a rewarding, if dense, companion.

The opening · free to read

London:

SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, FLEET STREET.

1881.

CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

This book, as I explained in the preface to its first edition, published in 1876, is designed to serve and entertain those interested in the transactions of the Theatre. I have not pretended to set forth anew a formal and complete History of the Stage; it has rather been my object to traverse by-paths connected with the subject--to collect and record certain details and curiosities of histrionic life and character, past and present, which have escaped or seemed unworthy the notice of more ambitious and absolute chroniclers. At most I would have these pages considered as but portions of the story of the British Theatre whispered from the side-wings.

Necessarily, the work is derived from many sources, owes much to previous labours, is the result of considerable searching here and there, collation, and selection. I have endeavoured to make acknowledgment, as opportunity occurred, of the authorities I stand indebted to, for this fact or that story. I desire, however, to make express mention of the frequent aid I have received from Mr. J. Payne Collier's admirable "History of English Dramatic Poetry" (1831), containing Annals of the Stage to the Restoration. Mr. Collier, having enjoyed access to many public and private collections of the greatest value, has much enriched the store of information concerning our Dramatic Literature amassed by Malone, Stevens, Reed, and Chalmers. Referring to numberless published and unpublished papers, to sources both familiar and rare, Mr. Collier has been enabled, moreover, to increase in an important degree our knowledge of the Elizabethan Theatre, its manners and customs, ways and means. I feel that I owe to his archaeological studies many apt quotations and illustrative passages I could scarcely have supplied from my own unassisted resources.

Some additions to the text I have deemed expedient. The few errors--they were very few and unimportant--discovered in the first edition I have corrected in the present publication; certain redundancies I have suppressed; here and there I have ventured upon condensation, and generally I have endeavoured to bring my statements into harmony with the condition of the stage at the present moment. Substantially, however, the "Book of the Play" remains what it was at the date of its original issue, when it was received by the reading public with a kindness and cordiality I am not likely to forget.