British Nautical Melodramas, 1820–1850

Description

During the 1820s and 30s nautical melodramas "reigned supreme" on London stages, entertaining the mariners and maritime workers who comprised a large part of the audience for small theatres. These plays mixed sentimental moments and comic interludes of domestic melodrama with patriotic images that communicated and reinforced imperial themes. However, generally the study of British theatre history moves from medieval and renaissance plays directly to the realism and naturalism of late Victorian and modern drama. Readers typically encounter a gap between Restoration and eighteenth-century plays like those of Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and late-nineteenth plays by Henrik Ibsen and Oscar Wilde. Nineteenth-century drama, with the possible exception of plays by Byron, Shelley, and Wordsworth, remains all but invisible. Until recently, melodramatic plays written and performed during this "gap" received little scholarly attention, but their value as reflections of Britain’s promulgation of imperial ideology — and its role in constructing and maintaining class, gender, and racial identities — have given discussions of melodrama force and momentum. The plays included in these three volumes have never appeared in a critical anthology and most have not been republished since their original nineteenth-century editions. Each play is transcribed from original documents and includes an author biography, a headnote about the play itself, full annotations with brief definitions of unfamiliar vocabulary, and explanatory notes. Comprehensive editorial apparatus details the nineteenth-century imperial, naval, political, and social history relevant to the plays’ nautical themes, as well as discussing nineteenth-century theatre history, melodrama generally, and the nautical melodrama in particular. Contemporary theatre practices — acting, audiences, staging, lighting, special effects — are also examined. An extensive bibliography of primary and secondary texts; a complete index; and contemporary images of the actors, theatres, stage sets, playbills, costumes, and locales have been compiled to aid study further. Cover Volume1 Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Images Acknowledgements Abbreviations Editorial Policies Glossary Notable Theatres and People Bibliography General Introduction Volume I: Plays 1: Bound ’Prentice to a Waterman, or, the Flower of Woolwich Author Introduction: Andrew L. V. Campbell (1789–1870) Play Introduction Andrew L. V. Campbell, Bound ’Prentice to a Waterman, or, The Flower of Woolwich (Sadler’s Wells, 1836) 2: Rule Britannia; or, The Female Sacrifice Play Introduction Andrew L. V. Campbell, Rule Britannia; or, The Female Sacrifice (Sadler’s Wells, 1836) 3: The Pirate; or, The Wild Woman of Zetland Author Introduction: Thomas John Dibdin (1771–1841) Play Introduction Thomas John Dibdin, The Pirate; or, The Wild Woman of Zetland (Surrey, 1822) 4: The Floating Beacon; or, Norwegian Wreckers Author Introduction: Edward Fitzball (1792–1873) Play Introduction Edward Fitzball, The Floating Beacon, or, Norwegian Wreckers (Surrey, 1824) 5: The Flying Dutchman; or, The Phantom Ship Play Introduction Edward Fitzball, The Flying Dutchman; or, The Phantom Ship (Adelphi, 1826) 6: Nelson, or, “Britannia Rules the Waves” Play Introduction Edward Fitzball, Nelson, or, “Britannia Rules the Waves” (Adelphi, 1827) 7: The Pilot; or, a Tale of the Sea Play Introduction Edward Fitzball, The Pilot; or, a Tale of the Sea (Adelphi, 1825) 8: Tom Cringle’s Log, or, Mat of the Iron Hand Play Introduction Edward Fitzball, Tom Cringle’s Log, or, Mat of the Iron Hand (Surrey, 1834) Volume2 Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Volume II: Plays 9: Breakers Ahead! Or A Seaman’s Log! Author Introduction: John Thomas Haines (1798/9–1843) Play introduction John Thomas Haines, Breakers Ahead! Or, A Seaman’s Log! (Victoria, 1837) 10: My Poll and My Partner Joe Play Introduction John Thomas Haines, My Poll and My Partner Joe (Surrey, 1835) 11: The Ocean of Life; or, “Every Inch a Sailor!” Play Introduction John Thomas Haines, The Ocean of Life; or, “Every Inch a Sailor!” (Surrey, 1836) 12: Rattlin the Reefer; or, The Tiger of the Sea! Play Introduction John Thomas Haines, Rattlin the Reefer: or, The Tiger of the Sea! (Victoria, 1836) 13: The Wizard of the Wave; or, The Ship of the Avenger Play Introduction John Thomas Haines, The Wizard of the Wave; or, The Ship of the Avenger (Victoria, 1840) 14: Black Eyed Susan; or “All in the Downs!” Author Introduction: Douglas William Jerrold (1803–1857) Play Introduction Douglas William Jerrold, Black Eyed Susan; or “All in the Downs!” (Surrey, 1829) 15: Descart, the French Buccaneer Play Introduction Douglas William Jerrold, Descart, the French Buccaneer (Coburg, 1828) 16: Mutiny at the Nore; or British Sailors in 1797 Play Introduction Douglas William Jerrold, Mutiny at the Nore; or British Sailors in 1797: (Royal Pavilion, 1830) Volume3 Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Volume III: Plays 17: Shipwreck of the Medusa; or, the Fatal Raft! Author Introduction: William Gibbs Thomas Moncrieff (1794–1857) Play Introduction William Thomas Moncrieff, Shipwreck of the Medusa; or, the Fatal Raft! (Coburg, 1820) 18: Mr. Midshipman Easy! Author Introduction: William Henry Oxberry (1808–1852) Author Introduction: James Gann Play Introduction William Henry Oxberry and James Gann, Mr. Midshipman Easy! (Surrey, 1837) 19: Robinson Crusoe; or, the Bold Buccaniers Author Introduction: Isaac Innes Pocock (1782–1835) Play Introduction Isaac Pocock, Robinson Crusoe; or The Bold Buccaniers (Covent Garden, 1817) 20: The Fall of Algiers, By Sea and Land Author Introduction: C. A. Somerset (18??–1853) Play Introduction Charles A. Somerset, The Fall of Algiers, By Sea and Land (Astley’s, 1830) 21: “The Sea!” Play Introduction Charles A. Somerset, “The Sea!” (Queens, 1834) 22: The Cabin Boy Author Introduction: Edward Stirling (1811–1894) Play Introduction Edward Stirling, The Cabin Boy (Adelphi, 1846) 23: Penmark Abbey Author Introduction: Thomas James Thackeray (1796–1877) Play Introduction Thomas James Thackeray, Penmark Abbey (1840) 24: Ben the Boatswain, or, Sailors’ Sweethearts! Author Introduction: Thomas Egerton Wilks (1812?–1854) Play Introduction Thomas Egerton Wilks, Ben the Boatswain, or, Sailors’ Sweethearts! (Surrey, 1839)