''Masks and Faces'' is a British

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endi ...

written by

Charles Reade Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for the 1861 historical novel '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Sco ...

and

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literatu ...

which was first performed in 1852. It features the Irish actress

Peg Woffington Margaret Woffington (18 October 1720 – 28 March 1760), was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era. Early life Woffington was born of humble origins in Dublin, Ireland yet excelled in playing women from the upper classes. Her f ...

(1720–1760) as a major character. It proved popular, earning the writers £150.Sutherland p.530 The following year, to capitalize on the play's success Reade wrote a novel ''

'' which was also a major hit.

Adaptations

The play and the subsequent novel provided inspiration for a number of films, mostly made during the silent era. These included ''

'' (1912), '' Masks and Faces'' (1917) and '' Peg of Old Drury'' (1935).

References

Bibliography

* Sutherland, John. ''The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction''. Routledge, 2014. 1852 plays British plays adapted into films Plays set in England Plays by Charles Reade Broadway plays {{1850s-play-stub