''Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen'' is a 1667

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a seriou ...

written by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

. The play, commonly known by its more distinctive subtitle, was acted by the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wit ...

at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

(which had escaped the Great Fire of London the year before). The premiere occurred on 2 March, and was a popular success. King Charles II, his brother the Duke of York and future King James II, and Samuel Pepys were all in the audience on opening night. ''The Maiden Queen'' was noteworthy as a vehicle for Nell Gwyn, who played the heroine Florimel. Pepys raved about her performance in his Diary — "so great performance of a comical part was never, I believe, in the world before...." He returned to see the play eight more times. It was also a special favourite of the King, who reportedly called it "his play." In addition to Nell Gwyn, the original cast included Nicholas Burt as Lysimantes,

Michael Mohun Michael Mohun (1616? – buried 11 October 1684) was a leading English actor both before and after the 1642–60 closing of the theatres. Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's the ...

as Philocles, and Charles Hart as Celadon;

Anne Marshall Anne Marshall (fl. 1661 – 1682), also Mrs. Anne Quin, was a leading English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers to appear on the public stage in England. John Downes, in his ''Roscius Anglicanus ...

as Candiope and her sister Rebecca Marshall as the Queen,

Mary Knep Mary Knep (died 1681), also Knepp, Nepp, Knip, or Knipp, was an English actress and one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage during the Restoration era. Acting career Knep was primarily a singer and dancer ...

as Asteria, and

Katherine Corey Katherine Corey (fl. 1660 – 1692) was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one ...

as Melissa. A later production in

1672 Events January–March * January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "upon any warrant, secur ...

was cast entirely by women.

Thomas Killigrew Thomas Killigrew (7 February 1612 – 19 March 1683) was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England. Life Killigrew was one of twelve children of Sir Robert Killigrew ...

, manager of the King's Company, had developed this practice of all-female casts, starting with a 1664 staging of his own play ''

The Parson's Wedding ''The Parson's Wedding'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Thomas Killigrew. Often regarded as the author's best play, the drama has sometimes been considered an anticipation of Restoration comedy, written a generation before th ...

'', as a way to capitalise on the Restoration innovation of actresses on the English stage. ''The Maiden Queen'' was first published in

1668 Events January–March * January 23 – The Triple Alliance of 1668 is formed between England, Sweden and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. * February 13 – In Lisbon, a peace treaty is established between Af ...

Henry Herringman Henry Herringman (1628–1704) was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publis ...

. Another edition followed in

1698 Events January–March * January 1 – The Abenaki tribe and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty, ending the conflict in New England. * January 4 – The Palace of Whitehall in London, England is destroyed by fire. * January 23 ...

. Dryden composed his play in a mixture of rhymed verse, blank verse, and prose.

Gerard Langbaine Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his ''An Account of the English Dramatic Poets'' (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrig ...

noted in the 1690s that Dryden drew plot materials from two prose fictions by

Madeleine de Scudéry Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received inst ...

, ''Le Grand Cyrus'' (for the main plot) and ''Ibrahim, ou l'Illustre Bassa'' (for the subplot). (Dryden returned to Scudéry's ''Ibrahim'' for inspiration for another play, ''

An Evening's Love ''An Evening's Love, or The Mock Astrologer'' is a comedy in prose by John Dryden. It was first performed before Charles II and Queen Catherine by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal on Bridges Street, London, on Friday, 12 June 1668. Sa ...

'', the following year, 1668 — though that venture proved much less successful.) Dryden also borrowed material from Shirley's ''

Love in a Maze ''The Changes, or Love in a Maze'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy of manners written by James Shirley, first published in 1639. It was one of Shirley's most popular comedies, especially in the Restoration era. The play (which involves a ...

''. By Dryden's own testimony, the unheroic Philocles was inspired by Magnus de la Garide, the royal favourite of Queen

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

. The drama was revived in an adapted form in

1707 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – John V is crowned King of Portugal and the Algarv ...

;

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

mixed it with materials from '' Marriage à la mode''. The play remained in the repertory throughout the eighteenth century in various forms; a shortened version called ''Celadon and Florimel'' was acted as late as 1796. A London revival of ''The Maiden Queen'' occurred in 1886.Downes, pp. 111–12.

References

External links

''Secret-love : or The maiden-queen: as it is acted by his majesties servants at the Theater-Royal''. (1669)

The 1679 edition of the play at the J. Willard Marriott Library (The University of Utah).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maiden Queen, The English Restoration plays Plays by John Dryden 1667 plays Tragicomedy plays