''Julian'' is an 1823

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 ...

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

by the British writer

Mary Russell Mitford Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English essayist, novelist, poet and dramatist. She was born at Alresford in Hampshire, England. She is best known for '' Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes ...

. It premiered at the

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

on 15 March 1823. The original cast included

William Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English stage actor. The son of Irish actor-manager William Macready the Elder he emerged as a leading West End performer during the Regency era. Career Macready was born in London ...

as Julian,

Maria Foote Maria Stanhope, Countess of Harrington (24 July 1797? - 27 December 1867), better known as Maria Foote, was a British actress and peeress in the nineteenth century. Early life Foote was born 24 July 1797(?) at Plymouth. Her father, Samuel T. Fo ...

as Alphonso, King of Sicily,

George John Bennett George John Bennett (1800–1879) was for nearly 40 years a Shakespearian actor on the London stage, notably Covent Garden and Drury Lane. Life He was the son of the comedian George Bennett anHarriet Morland, the daughter of an ancient family ...

as Duke of Melfi, William Abbot as Count D'Alba, Daniel Egerton as Leanti, William Chapman as Calvi,

Thomas Comer Thomas Comer (1790–1862) was a British stage actor. Comer was born in Bath in Somerset. After appearing in the West End at the Drury Lane and Covent Garden theatres, he emigrated to the United States and established himself as a leading music ...

as Bertone and Maria Lacy as Annabel. Mitford wrote the play during the delays over the staging of her previous work ''

Foscari The House of Foscari () was an ancient Venice, Venetian patrician family, which reached its peak in the 14th–15th centuries, culminating in the Doge of Venice, dogeship of Francesco Foscari (1423–1457). History According to family tradition ...

'' which finally premiered in 1826. It is influenced by the 1820 rebellion on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

and its defeat and repression by

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...

forces.''The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature'' p.860

References

Bibliography

* Burwick, Frederick Goslee, Nancy Moore & Hoeveler Diane Long . ''The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature''. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. * Nicoll, Allardyce. ''A History of Early Nineteenth Century Drama 1800-1850''. Cambridge University Press, 1930. 1823 plays West End plays Tragedy plays Historical plays Plays set in Italy Plays by Mary Russell Mitford {{19thC-play-stub