''Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburgh'' is a 1729 historical

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

by the British writer

Eliza Haywood Eliza Haywood (c. 1693 – 25 February 1756), born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. An increase in interest and recognition of Haywood's literary works began in the 1980s. Described as "prolific even by the standar ...

. It is based on the life medieval ruler Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Haywood, well-known for her novels, had previously written a comedy ''

A Wife to be Let ''A Wife to be Let'' (also spelled ''A Wife to be Lett'') is a 1723 comedy play by the British writer Eliza Haywood. Better known for her novels, it was Haywood's first theatrical play. Staged at the Drury Lane Theatre the cast included Theophil ...

'' in 1723, but in the wake of the theatrical boom following the success of ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'', she produced a second play. Haywood wrote the play in roughly four weeks, and dedicated it to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...

who had recently arrived in Britain from the country from

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. It was an effort to secure patronage from the royal family, based on the life of their

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

ancestor, and was intended to coincide with the celebrations of Queen Caroline's birthday. However it was not a success, lasting for only three nights, something Haywood partly attributed to its lack of royal backing.King p.56-58 The original cast included Thomas Walker as Frederick,

Lacy Ryan Lacy Ryan (c. 1694–1760), English actor, appeared at the Haymarket Theatre about 1709. Life By 1718 he had joined the company at Lincoln's Inn Fields, where he shared the lead with his friend James Quin. He took leading roles in ''Richard ...

as Duke of Wirtemberg, Thomas Chapman as Ridolpho, James Quin as Count Waldec,

William Milward William Milward (1702-1742) was a British stage actor. He began his career with John Rich's company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre and also appeared at the Haymarket. From 1734 he became part of the company at Drury Lane where he remained f ...

as Anspach,

Henrietta Morgan Henrietta Morgan or Henrietta Maria Morgan was a British stage actress of the eighteenth century. She was billed as Mrs Morgan. She was married to the actor Robert Morgan, appearing alongside him at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre where they were p ...

as Sophia,

Elizabeth Buchanan Elizabeth Faith Currer Buchanan, CVO (born 1963) was formerly Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales. Buchanan worked in public relations. She was a spokeswoman for United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and a political adviser to Ce ...

as Anna and Anne Berriman as Adelaid.

References

Bibliography

* Burling, William J. ''A Checklist of New Plays and Entertainments on the London Stage, 1700-1737''. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1992. * King, Kathryn R. ''A Political Biography of Eliza Haywood''. Routledge, 2015. * Rubik, Margarete. ''Early Women Dramatists 1550–1801''. Macmillan, 2016. 1729 plays West End plays Plays by Eliza Haywood Tragedy plays Plays set in Germany Cultural depictions of German men Plays based on real people Plays based on actual events Cultural depictions of dukes Plays set in the 14th century {{1720s-play-stub