VIRGINIA, A TRAGEDY As Performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane

Ldn, John Bell, 1778-01-01. Paperback. Good. 1778 'Printed for John Bell near Exeter Exchange' (London) 4 1/8 x 6 5/8 inches tall, with no wraps or covers, removed from a larger volume of English plays but separately paginated, with its own title page and engraved frontispiece of Mrs. Yates in the title role. A complete copy, 63, [1] pp. Moderate staining and foxing to frontispiece and title page, with offsetting from frontispiece to title page. Light to moderate foxing on some other pages. Otherwise, a very good copy of a scarce early edition. Reference: ESTC No. T50927. ~MMM~ The playwright, Samuel Crisp (1707-1783), had several other literary projects, including poetry, but his only work to come before the public in his lifetime was this, 'Virginia,' a tragedy in blank verse based on the story of Appius and Virginia. David Garrick accepted the play reluctantly, under pressure from the countess of Coventry, but improved it with cuts, and wrote and delivered an amusing prologue which lightly mocks Crisp, stiff in classic knowledge. Garrick also wrote the comic epilogue spoken by Susanna Maria Cibber (1714-1766). The actress featured in the engraving is Mary Ann Yates (1728-1787), who does not appear in the 'Dramatis Personae' on page 8, as Mrs. Cibber played Virginia when the play first opened. Mrs. Yates appeared in 1753, aged 25, at Drury Lane as Marcia, later succeeding to Mrs. Cibber's lead role (and to her reputation as the leading tragedienne of the English stage).