George William Lovell (1804 – 13 May 1878) was an English dramatist and novelist. His most successful play was '' The Wife's Secret'', staged at the Haymarket Theatre with

Charles Kean Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868), was an English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays. Life Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary Kean ('' ...

and his wife

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

in the principal roles, and revived several times.

Life

Lovell was for many years secretary of the Phœnix Insurance Company, but devoted his leisure to writing plays. His first play was ''The Avenger'', produced at the Surrey Theatre in 1835, when Samuel Butler represented the chief character. This was followed by ''

The Provost of Bruges ''The Provost of Bruges'' is a historical tragedy by the British writer George William Lovell. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 10 February 1836.Nicoll p.337 The original cast featured William Macready as Bertulphe, ...

'', with

William Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the t ...

as the hero, at Covent Garden in February 1836. The play was founded on ''The Serf'', a story in

Leitch Ritchie Leitch Ritchie (1800–1865) was a Scottish novelist and journalist. He was born at Greenock and worked as a clerk in Glasgow, but about 1820 adopted literature as his profession. Ritchie wrote four novels, of which the most successful was '' We ...

's ''Romance of History'', and attained great popularity. A novel, ''The Trustee'', appeared in 1841, and further advanced Lovell's literary fame; '' Love's Sacrifice, or the Rival Merchants'', a five-act drama, was brought out at Covent Garden in September 1842, under

Charles Kemble Charles Kemble (25 November 1775 – 12 November 1854) was a Welsh-born English actor of a prominent theatre family. Life Charles Kemble was one of 13 siblings and the youngest son of English Roman Catholic theatre manager/actor Roger Kemble ...

's management, and the comedy '' Look Before You Leap'', at the Haymarket Theatre in October 1846. Lovell's most famous play, '' The Wife's Secret'', was purchased by

for £400 before a line of it was written. It was originally produced at the Park Theatre, New York, in October 1846, and was brought out in London at the Haymarket in January 1848, when it ran for 36 nights, with Mr and Mrs Kean in the principal roles. There were revivals in 1850 at the

Princess's Theatre The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1 ...

and in 1861 at Drury Lane, with further revivals during the following years. A reviewer of the original London production wrote that the play "is a plain story effectively told, with the advantage that the ruling sentiment, though often treated before, is one that is sure to appeal to a large portion of an audience." (''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 18 January 1848.) His last drama was '' The Trial of Love'', acted at the Princess's Theatre in January 1852, with Mr and Mrs Kean in the lead roles; it ran for 23 nights. Lovell married in 1830 Maria Ann Lacy, an actress. On her marriage she retired from the stage, and wrote the plays ''

Ingomar the Barbarian ''Ingomar, the Barbarian'' is a 1908 American silent short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It has been placed in the same genre as the theatrical toga play.Richards, Jeffrey"Review: ''Playing out the Empire: Ben-Hur and other Toga Plays ...

'' and ''The Beginning and the End''. The majority of Lovell's dramatic pieces were printed. He died at his home in Hampstead, London on 13 May 1878, in his seventy-fifth year. He left at least one daughter and one son, William Henry Lovell.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovell, George William 1804 births 1896 deaths 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English novelists