Citation

Parisot E. Huntington Libr. Q. 2019; 82(3): 407-427.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, University of Pennsylvania Press)

DOI

10.1353/hlq.2019.0021

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

George Colman's The Suicide, A Comedy (1778) was one of the most popular new comedies of its day, and despite its controversial combination of subject and mode, it was widely received as a satiric antidote to what was perceived as a national (and fashionable) suicide epidemic. The play was never published, and serious critical assessment of the play remains scarce. This essay establishes a new history of the play from an examination of the play's two known extant copies: the Larpent manuscript held at the Huntington Library and a prompter's copy at McGill University, critically studied for the first time. Together, they enable the construction of an intimate history, providing new insights about the play's licensing, its real-life satirical objects, casting, planning, and its status as an enduring Haymarket favorite.

Language: en