''The Wife's Secret'' is an 1846

historical play History is one of the three main genres in Western theatre alongside tragedy and comedy, although it originated, in its modern form, thousands of years later than the other primary genres. For this reason, it is often treated as a subset of trage ...

by the British writer

George William Lovell 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 and his wife Ellen in the principal roles, and revived sever ...

. The play takes place in Dorset during the rule of Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War. It premiered at the Park Theatre in Manhattan on 12 October 1846 with Charles Kean in the lead. It made its London debut at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on 17 January 1848. The Haymarket cast included Charles Kean as Sir Walter Aymott, Henry Howe as Lord Arden,

Ellen Kean Ellen Kean (12 December 1805 – 20 August 1880) was an English actress. She was known as Ellen Tree until her marriage in 1842, after which she was known both privately and professionally as Mrs Charles Kean and always appeared in productions ...

as Lady Eveline Amyott, Benjamin Nottingham Webster as Jabez Sneed and

Mary Anne Keeley Mary Anne Keeley, ''née'' Goward (22 November 1805 – 12 March 1899) was an English actress and actor-manager. Life Mary Ann Goward was born at Ipswich, her father was a brazier and tinman. Her sister Sarah Judith Goward was the mother of Lydi ...

as Maud. '' The Times'' praised Ellen Kean's performance, noting "the wife, is played to perfection".Pascoe p.218

References

Bibliography

* Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. * Pascoe, Charles Eyre. ''Our Actors and Actresses. The Dramatic List''. David Bogue, 1880. * Taylor, George. ''Players and Performances in the Victorian Theatre''. Manchester University Press, 1993. 1846 plays West End plays British plays Historical plays Plays set in the 17th century Plays set in England Plays by George William Lovell {{19thC-play-stub