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Thomas Odell (writer)
Thomas Odell (1691 – 24 May 1749) was an English playwright, and for a short time producer of plays at a theatre he erected, Goodman's Fields Theatre. Life Odell was born in 1691, the son of a Buckinghamshire squire. He came to London about 1714 with introductions to some of the Whig leaders, and a desire to try his hand at lampooning. He obtained a pension of £200 through the influence of Lord Wharton and the Earl of Sunderland, and put his pen at Robert Walpole's disposal. He is said by the antiquary William Oldys to have written a number of satires upon Alexander Pope, and to have been deterred from printing them only by Walpole's fear lest such a step might estrange Lord Chesterfield and others of Pope's admirers among his adherents. In 1721 his first comedy, '' The Chimera'', a satirical piece aimed at the speculators in Change Alley, was produced at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, but met with small success on the boards, though when printed it ran to a second ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goodman's Fields Theatre
Two 18th century theatres bearing the name Goodman's Fields Theatre were located on Alie Street, Whitechapel, London. The first opened on 31 October 1727 in a small shop by Thomas Odell, deputy Licenser of Plays. The first play performed was George Farquhar's ''The Recruiting Officer''. Henry Fielding's second play ''The Temple Beau'' premièred here on 26 January 1730. Upon retirement, Odell passed the management on to Henry Giffard, after a sermon was preached against the theatre at St Botolph's, Aldgate.''Whitechapel'' from ''Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People and Its Places by Walter Thornbury'' (1881) accessed 6 March 2007 Giffard operated the theatre until 1732. After he left, the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Temple Beau
''The Temple Beau'' is a play by Henry Fielding. It was first performed on 26 January 1730, at Goodman's Fields after it was rejected by the Theatre Royal. The play, well received at Goodman's Fields, depicts a young law student forsaking his studies for pleasure. By portraying hypocrisy in a comedic manner, Fielding shifts his focus from a discussion of love and lovers. The play's relative success when compared to other plays at Goodman's Fields was in part caused by the relative freedom granted by Goodman's Fields, though the play was not dramatically different from Fielding's first play, '' Love in Several Masques''. No contemporary reviews exist. Modern critics generally view it as an improvement in Fielding's playwriting while still considering it to have several weaknesses. Background Fielding wrote ''The Temple Beau'' sometime after leaving Leiden in April 1729. It was the fourth play that Fielding wrote and he finished it by the end of 1729. Although his first play was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1749 Deaths
Events January–March * January 3 ** Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont. ** The first issue of ''Berlingske'', Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published. * January 21 – The Teatro Filarmonico, the main opera theater in Verona, Italy, is destroyed by fire. It is rebuilt in 1754. * February – The second part of John Cleland's erotic novel ''Fanny Hill'' (''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'') is published in London. The author is released from debtors' prison in March. * February 28 – Henry Fielding's comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' is published in London. Also this year, Fielding becomes magistrate at Bow Street, and first enlists the help of the Bow Street Runners, an early police force (eight men at first). * March 6 – A "corpse riot" breaks out in Glasgow after a body disappears from a churchyard in the Gorbals district. Suspicion fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1691 Births
Events January–March * January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands. * January 14 – A fleet of ships carrying 827 Spanish Navy sailors and marines arrives at Manzanillo Bay on the island of Hispaniola in what is now the Dominican Republic and joins 700 Spanish cavalry, then proceeds westward to invade the French side of the island in what is now Haiti. * January 15 – King Louis XIV of France issues an order specifically prohibiting play of games of chance, specifically naming basset and similar games, on penalty of 1,000 livres for the first offence. * January 23 – Spanish colonial administrator Domingo Terán de los Ríos, most recently the governor of Sonora y Sinaloa on the east side of the Gulf of California, is assigned by the Viceroy of New Spain to administer a new province that governs lands on both sides of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Holy Roman Empress. Maria Theresa started her 40-year reign when her father, Emperor Charles VI, died on 20 October 1740. Charles VI paved the way for her accession with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 and spent his entire reign securing it. He neglected the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoy, who believed that a strong military and a rich treasury were more important than mere signatures. Eventually, Charles VI left behind a weakened and impoverished state, particularly due to the War of the Polish Succession and the Rus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke Of Dorset
Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (18 January 168810 October 1765) was an English political leader and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Life He was the son of the 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex, and the former Lady Mary Compton, younger daughter of the 3rd Earl of Northampton. Styled Lord Buckhurst from birth, he succeeded his father as 7th Earl of Dorset and 2nd Earl of Middlesex in 1706, and was created Duke of Dorset in 1720. Perhaps because he had been on a previous diplomatic mission to Hanover, he was chosen to inform George I of his accession to the Crown in August 1714. George I initially favoured him and numerous offices and honours were given to him: Privy Councillor, Knight of the Garter, Groom of the Stole, Lord Steward, Governor of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. At George I's coronation he carried the sceptre: at the coronation of George II he was Lord High Steward and carried St Edward's Crown. He quarrelled with the King in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke Of Marlborough
Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician from the Spencer family. He briefly served as Lord Privy Seal in 1755. He led British forces during the Raid on St Malo in 1758. Early life He was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, and Lady Anne Churchill, the second daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. He inherited the Sunderland title from his older brother in 1729, becoming 5th Earl of Sunderland, and then the Marlborough title from his aunt Henrietta, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough in 1733. At that time, he handed over the Sunderland estates to his younger brother John, but he did not obtain Blenheim Palace until Sarah, the dowager duchess, died in 1744. On Thursday, 14 July 1737, Marlborough ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate. The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster, John Baldwin Buckstone, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Licensing Act 1737
The Licensing Act of 1737 is a defunct Act of Parliament in the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a pivotal moment in theatrical history. Its purpose was to control and censor what was being said about the British government through theatre. The act was modified by the Theatres Act 1843 and was finally named as the Theatres Act 1968. The Lord Chamberlain was the official censor and the office of Examiner of Plays was created under the Act. The Examiner assisted the Lord Chamberlain in the task of censoring all plays from 1737 to 1968. The Examiner read all plays which were to be publicly performed, produced a synopsis and recommended them for licence, consulting the Lord Chamberlain in cases of doubt. Forerunner The function of censorship of plays for performance (at least in London) fell to the Master of the Revels by the time of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The power was used mostly with respect to matters of politics and religion (including blasphemy). It was certainly exercised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Spencer, 4th Earl Of Sunderland
Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland (24 October 1701 – 15 September 1729) was a British peer from the Spencer family, the son of Whig politician Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland. His mother was Lady Anne Churchill, the daughter of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Known as Lord Spencer between 1702 and 1722, he succeeded to the Earldom after his father's death in 1722, but died in 1729 with no children. Therefore, his brother, Charles, became 5th Earl of Sunderland, and subsequently 3rd Duke of Marlborough after the death of his aunt, Henrietta Godolphin (''née'' Churchill), 2nd Duchess of Marlborough. References *Henry L. Snyder, ‘Spencer, Charles, third earl of Sunderland (1675–1722)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200accessed 8 Sept 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Robert Spencer, 4th Earl of 1701 births 1729 deaths Earls of Sunderla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Rufus Chetwood
William Rufus Chetwood (died 1766) was an English or Anglo-Irish publisher and bookseller, and a prolific writer of plays and adventure novels. He also penned a valuable ''General History of the Stage''. Publishing and prompting Nothing certain is known of Chetwood's early life, but he may have spent an extended period at sea. In 1713 he appeared as the publisher of ''A Poem on the Memorable Fall of Chloe's P—s Pot'' (attributed to Jonathan Swift). In the following year he was acting as assistant manager to Joseph Ashbury's theatre company in Dublin. His first published writing appears to have been a ''Life of Lady Jane Grey'', published in Dublin in 1715. By June 1715 he was prompter at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which he remained for much of the following twenty years. Chetwood soon built up a business as a publisher and bookseller, operating alone or in conjunction with other firms. His frequent publishing partners included Barnaby Bernard Lintot, John Watts, William Mear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Widow Bewitched
''The Widow Bewitched'' is a 1730 comedy play by the British writer John Mottley. The original Goodman's Fields cast included William Giffard as Colonel Courtly, Henry Giffard as Stanza and Anna Marcella Giffard Anna Marcella Giffard (1707-1777) was an Irish stage actress. She was a member of the Lyddal acting family of Dublin, and began appearing herself at the Smock Alley Theatre under the name of Nancy Lyddal in the 1720s. In around 1728 she married ... as Matilda. References Bibliography * Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''History of English Drama, 1660-1900, Volume 2''. Cambridge University Press, 2009. 1730 plays Plays by John Mottley Comedy plays {{1730s-play-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
