George Stephens (1800–1851) was an English author and dramatist. He enjoyed little apparent success, but one of his dramas played a part in the campaign of the

Syncretic Society John Abraham Heraud (1799–1887) was an English journalist and poet. He published two extravagant epic poems, ''The Descent into Hell'' (1830), and ''The Judgment of the Flood'' (1834). He also wrote plays, and travel books. Life He was born ...

to lift licensing restrictions in London, and have more serious and new drama performed.

Life

Stephens was born at

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

on 8 March 1800; much of his life remains obscure. In later life he suffered reverses of fortune. He died at Pratt Terrace, Camden Town, London, on 15 October 1851. His widow Ellen died on 11 August 1866, aged 56. They had a son and daughter.

Works

Three works published under the pseudonym of St. John Dorset have been thought early productions by Stephens. At least two of them, ''The Vampire: a tragedy'', 1821, and ''Montezuma: a tragedy'', 1822, have also been taken to have been written by

Hugo John Belfour Hugo John Belfour (1802–1827), who used the pseudonym St. John Dorset, was an English poet and cleric. Life He was born in or near London, the eldest child of Edward Belfour, of the Navy Office, by his wife Catherine, daughter of John Greenwel ...

; and the third, a volume of poems, to be a joint production of Belfour and Stephens. In 1835 Stephens published ''The Manuscript of Erdély'', a romance, 3 vols. This was followed by ''The Voice of the Pulpit, being Sermons on various subjects'', 1839 (preface dated Bromley Hall, Herts, 28 November 1838); ''Gertrude and Beatrice, or the Queen of Hungary: a tragedy in five acts'', 1839; and ''Père La Chaise, or the Confessor'', 1840, 3 vols. On 26 August 1841 Stephens saw his tragedy ''Martinuzzi, or the Hungarian Daughter'' produced at the English Opera House. ''Martinuzzi'' was an attempt, backed by the "Syncretic Society" of litterateurs, to break an existing monopoly in theatrical London. By the device of introducing songs, it was gratuitously converted into a musical drama, to get round the law which limited the performance of five-act dramas to the three "patent houses" and the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

Samuel Phelps Samuel Phelps (born 13 February 1804, Plymouth Dock (now Devonport), Plymouth, Devon, died 6 November 1878, Anson's Farm, Coopersale, near Epping, Essex) was an English actor and theatre manager. He is known for his productions of William S ...

and

Mary Amelia Warner Mary Amelia Warner (''née'' Huddart; 1804–1854), best known by her stage name Mrs Warner, was an English actress and theatre manager. Life Warner was born in Manchester in 1804 to Thomas Huddart, a chemist from Dublin, and his wife, Ann née ...

took the main roles, and the piece kept the stage for a month, though the critics were not impressed. In 1846 Stephens wrote ''Dramas for the Stage'', two privately printed volumes containing ''Nero'', ''Forgery'', ''Sensibility'', and ''Philip Basil, or a Poet's Fate'', four tragedies; ''Self-Glorification'', a Chinese play; and ''Rebecca and her Daughter'', a comedy. He also wrote the introduction to the ''

Church of England Quarterly Review ''The Church Quarterly Review'' (now abbreviated ''CQR'') was an English journal published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. It existed independently from 1875 until 1968; in that year it merged with the ''London Quarterly and Hol ...

'', 1837, with an article, "The Slumber of the Pulpit". Other works were ''The Patriot, a tragedy'', 1849; and ''The Justification of War as the Medium of Civilisation'', 1850.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, George 1800 births 1851 deaths Writers from Chelsea, London English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers