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London Assurance and Other Victorian Comedies
This is a unique edition of four "high society" Victorian comedies, currently enjoying revival on the London stage. The volume Dion Boucicault's London Assurance, W. S. Gilbert's Engaged, Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Money, and Henry James's The High Bid. Each of the plays deals with marriage, tests of affection, and the power of money.
A critical introduction, a wide-ranging annotation, and an informative bibliography illuminate the plays' cultural contexts and theatrical potential for reader and performer alike.
A critical introduction, a wide-ranging annotation, and an informative bibliography illuminate the plays' cultural contexts and theatrical potential for reader and performer alike.
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1841
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About the author
Dion Boucicault
123 books10 followersDionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (26 December 1820 -18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 9, 2024
A really fun Victorian farce.
October 19, 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06djpd6Description: 1840: Vain and ageing peacock, Sir Harcourt Courtly is preening himself for the conquest of young Grace Harkaway. But his son Charles, a roguish young buck has his eye on the very same prey.
Boucicault's comedy of manners stars:
Daniel Massey as Sir Harcourt Courtly,
Elizabeth Spriggs as Lady Gay Spanker,
Samantha Bond as Grace Harkaway,
Reece Dinsdale as Charles Courtly,
Trevor Peacock as Mark Meddle and
Michael Hordern as Sir Charles Crawford.
Adapted and produced by Sue Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
August 4, 2024
Fun farce. Outrageous characters. Effervescent dialogue.
January 18, 2024
Wasn't bad, wasn't great.
A more obscure play in the grand scheme of Victorian Theatre when it has to compete with the likes of Oscar Wilde.
While the comedy is funny and the plot is over the top and nonsensical to support said good comedy- the characters fall flat for me. Of course I am not the intended audience of this play so maybe if I was some upper-middle class lady who saw this it might have been the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Regardless it is the 21st century and none of the characters I found very likeable or personable besides Lady Gay Spanker and Dazzle.
The play is a 2.5, Lady Gay Spanker is a 5 out of 5.
A more obscure play in the grand scheme of Victorian Theatre when it has to compete with the likes of Oscar Wilde.
While the comedy is funny and the plot is over the top and nonsensical to support said good comedy- the characters fall flat for me. Of course I am not the intended audience of this play so maybe if I was some upper-middle class lady who saw this it might have been the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Regardless it is the 21st century and none of the characters I found very likeable or personable besides Lady Gay Spanker and Dazzle.
The play is a 2.5, Lady Gay Spanker is a 5 out of 5.
October 19, 2015
From BBC Radio 4 Extra- Extra Debut:
1840: Vain and ageing peacock, Sir Harcourt Courtly is preening himself for the conquest of young Grace Harkaway. But his son Charles, a roguish young buck has his eye on the very same prey.
Boucicault's comedy of manners stars Daniel Massey as Sir Harcourt Courtly, Elizabeth Spriggs as Lady Gay Spanker, Samantha Bond as Grace Harkaway, Reece Dinsdale as Charles Courtly, Trevor Peacock as Mark Meddle and Michael Hordern as Sir Charles Crawford.
Adapted and produced by Sue Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06djpd6
1840: Vain and ageing peacock, Sir Harcourt Courtly is preening himself for the conquest of young Grace Harkaway. But his son Charles, a roguish young buck has his eye on the very same prey.
Boucicault's comedy of manners stars Daniel Massey as Sir Harcourt Courtly, Elizabeth Spriggs as Lady Gay Spanker, Samantha Bond as Grace Harkaway, Reece Dinsdale as Charles Courtly, Trevor Peacock as Mark Meddle and Michael Hordern as Sir Charles Crawford.
Adapted and produced by Sue Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06djpd6
June 21, 2019
Book Review - London Assurance by Dion Boucicault
First performed, 1841
A few years back, I fancied I might go into the theatre. I was young. Anyway, at that time, I read a lot of plays, looking for audition pieces. I read a huge amount of Pinter, Chekhov and Orton, and loved them all, but I had never heard of Dion Boucicault. I’m an adult now and have, in fact, read Dion Boucicault. Well done, me.
Life and such, I wasn’t meant to be an actor, but around a year ago, I heard there was a revival of ‘London Assurance’ in 2010, which starred Simon Russell Beale, Mark Addy, Richard Briers and Fiona Shaw.
Almost running a temperature, I got onto the National Theatre, and asked them if there was a DVD available, because I’d missed the live performances by eight years and would have loved to see it.
Long story, but it turns out: if you want to see this version of 'London Assurance’, you can make a booking with the National Theatre and watch it in their archive, which is in London.
This throws something of a spanner in the works, as I am rarely in London. However, I have an imagination, I can see the cast list on IMDb, and can read the play.
So I did.
The play is great. A farce, which calls to mind ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. So, here’s what happens…
Nineteen year old Grace is engaged to be married to Sir Harcourt Courtly, a very vain man on the softer side of fifty who, once they are married, will support her family financially.
At a party at Grace's family home, Sir Harcourt’s son, Charles appears in the guise of Augustus Hamilton. His father thinks he recognises him, but Charles convinces Sir Harcourt that he is mistaken. This is because Charles has, within moments of seeing her, fallen in love with Grace.
Lady Gay Spanker (the finest name is all of literature) is a married woman with a fine wit and ready smile. She is also visiting the house with her husband, Adolphus Spanker, also known as Dolly.
Charles manages to convince Lady Gay Spanker to seduce his father and thus, divert the older man’s attention from his fiancee. There’s a lot of confusion and scheming, a great hoot.
If anyone from the National Theatre is reading this, please make the DVD available. My birthday’s coming...
First performed, 1841
A few years back, I fancied I might go into the theatre. I was young. Anyway, at that time, I read a lot of plays, looking for audition pieces. I read a huge amount of Pinter, Chekhov and Orton, and loved them all, but I had never heard of Dion Boucicault. I’m an adult now and have, in fact, read Dion Boucicault. Well done, me.
Life and such, I wasn’t meant to be an actor, but around a year ago, I heard there was a revival of ‘London Assurance’ in 2010, which starred Simon Russell Beale, Mark Addy, Richard Briers and Fiona Shaw.
Almost running a temperature, I got onto the National Theatre, and asked them if there was a DVD available, because I’d missed the live performances by eight years and would have loved to see it.
Long story, but it turns out: if you want to see this version of 'London Assurance’, you can make a booking with the National Theatre and watch it in their archive, which is in London.
This throws something of a spanner in the works, as I am rarely in London. However, I have an imagination, I can see the cast list on IMDb, and can read the play.
So I did.
The play is great. A farce, which calls to mind ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. So, here’s what happens…
Nineteen year old Grace is engaged to be married to Sir Harcourt Courtly, a very vain man on the softer side of fifty who, once they are married, will support her family financially.
At a party at Grace's family home, Sir Harcourt’s son, Charles appears in the guise of Augustus Hamilton. His father thinks he recognises him, but Charles convinces Sir Harcourt that he is mistaken. This is because Charles has, within moments of seeing her, fallen in love with Grace.
Lady Gay Spanker (the finest name is all of literature) is a married woman with a fine wit and ready smile. She is also visiting the house with her husband, Adolphus Spanker, also known as Dolly.
Charles manages to convince Lady Gay Spanker to seduce his father and thus, divert the older man’s attention from his fiancee. There’s a lot of confusion and scheming, a great hoot.
If anyone from the National Theatre is reading this, please make the DVD available. My birthday’s coming...
October 11, 2024
This is a nice edition of a play I had never heard of before but thoroughly enjoyed.
The introduction gives a short biography of Dion Boucicault and a scene by scene breakdown of the play. Then key elements of the play are discussed.
This is followed by a the text of the play and a glossary of difficult words.
It is a fun play and I look forward to seeing it.
p. xvi: "The plot of London Assurance will not stand close scrutiny of its logic and it demands a considerable degree of suspension of disbelief form a reader. In performance, however, the rapid unfolding of events, the pace of the action and the characters' delight in language combine to reduce the time available for an audience to raise criticisms of the play's verisimilitude."
p. xxiii: Dion Boucicault: A Biography
London Assurance and Other Victorian Comedies
p. 2: currente calamo: without deep reflection- m-w.com
"but as I wrote currente calamo I have doubtless through the play strayed far wide of my original intent."
p. 14: SIR HARCOURT: It's an undeniable fact; plain people always praise the beauties of the mind.
p. 19: DAZZLE: I'd put a gridle round about the earth, in very considerably less than forty minutes.
p. 27: GRACE: A woman is always in love with one of two things. A man, or herself -- and I know which is the most profitable.
p. 29: calumniate: to utter maliciously false statements, charges, or imputations about
"don't calumniate my calling, or disseminate vulgar prejudices."
p. 34: GRACE: Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them
The introduction gives a short biography of Dion Boucicault and a scene by scene breakdown of the play. Then key elements of the play are discussed.
This is followed by a the text of the play and a glossary of difficult words.
It is a fun play and I look forward to seeing it.
p. xvi: "The plot of London Assurance will not stand close scrutiny of its logic and it demands a considerable degree of suspension of disbelief form a reader. In performance, however, the rapid unfolding of events, the pace of the action and the characters' delight in language combine to reduce the time available for an audience to raise criticisms of the play's verisimilitude."
p. xxiii: Dion Boucicault: A Biography
London Assurance and Other Victorian Comedies
p. 2: currente calamo: without deep reflection- m-w.com
"but as I wrote currente calamo I have doubtless through the play strayed far wide of my original intent."
p. 14: SIR HARCOURT: It's an undeniable fact; plain people always praise the beauties of the mind.
p. 19: DAZZLE: I'd put a gridle round about the earth, in very considerably less than forty minutes.
p. 27: GRACE: A woman is always in love with one of two things. A man, or herself -- and I know which is the most profitable.
p. 29: calumniate: to utter maliciously false statements, charges, or imputations about
"don't calumniate my calling, or disseminate vulgar prejudices."
p. 34: GRACE: Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them
April 14, 2024
A lot of fun. I can imagine Wilde getting some indirect or direct influence from this play in his own society comedies--Lady Gay Spanker seems strident and clever in a lot of the same way as Lady Allonby and Harcourt Courtly as a sort of Lord Illingworth. Lots of humorous side characters in the money-hungry lawyer, the Jeeves-ish valet, and the related-to-everyone drunkard that somehow pulls it off as a charming guy. Some really clever lines, and, though the plot is very contrived in the beginning to the point where you must see the foregone conclusion in Act I, like Dazzle, it's cute enough to pull it off.
December 29, 2019
Delightful farce. Looking forward to seeing it performed at Irish Rep today!
April 18, 2020
A good old-fashioned romp, with delightful characters. I can imagine actors delighting in the roles. I remember seeing this at the Stratford Festival with Brian Bedford in the lead in 2006.
February 6, 2023
Very good play
June 18, 2023
Any inference you may be tempted to draw from the fact that this play contains a character called Gay Spanker is probably incorrect.
September 2, 2024
Seeing this performed after reading it definitely boosted my rating. I laughed so much
February 9, 2025
Funny. Kind of a romp. Wilde does it better
February 28, 2017
Boucicault's 1841 romp is a halfway house between Sheridan and Wilde, and has been updated for modern audiences without losing its post-regency flavour. The plot - of a father and son both pursuing the same young lady - has the classic elements of farce with mistaken identity, failed plots and romantic confusion. The characters are classic archetypes: a vain and amorous city gent, his handsome but naïve son, an aloof but clever butler (a prototype of Jeeves), a modest young belle, a conniving lawyer and a rumbustious foxhunting lady going by the glorious appellation of 'Lady Gay Spanker'.
The dialogue is razor-sharp and the jokes boisterous without being crass. Most of the humour comes from clever word-play that foreshadows Wilde and Wodehouse, while the author treats all of his characters fairly (except Meddle the lawyer, who is described as "a stain looking for a sheet"). There is an added bonus in that the female characters are intellectually the match of the males, and the young heiress Grace is quick-witted and likeable rather than merely decorative.
This new version has had a successful recent run in London, and looks like it will have a happy afterlife on the amateur circuit (it had better: I'm playing Cool the butler in June).
The dialogue is razor-sharp and the jokes boisterous without being crass. Most of the humour comes from clever word-play that foreshadows Wilde and Wodehouse, while the author treats all of his characters fairly (except Meddle the lawyer, who is described as "a stain looking for a sheet"). There is an added bonus in that the female characters are intellectually the match of the males, and the young heiress Grace is quick-witted and likeable rather than merely decorative.
This new version has had a successful recent run in London, and looks like it will have a happy afterlife on the amateur circuit (it had better: I'm playing Cool the butler in June).
June 20, 2025
Boucicault channels his compatriot Goldsmith as fellow-Irishman Wilde will later channel Boucicault. The dramatic roots of this farce go very deep, to Terence and the Roman characters via Shakespeare and Restoration comedy. No-one would claim the same genius for London Assurance, but in the National Theatre's 2016 production, it's open-hearted, silly, hilarious at times and wonderfully acted, full of delightful cariacatures with names like Spanker, Dazzle, Meddle, Pert and Cool, and it has all the exuberance you'd expect from a 21 year-old author. The cast, including Fiona Shaw and Simon Russell Beale, give energetic performances and there are some great one-liners. The production is available on National Theatre Home.
September 30, 2015
What a strange play. It feels as if it was written years earlier, MOSTLY. In plot and characters, it is a throwback to Goldsmith and Wycherley, who themselves were different generations, yet it cannot escape certain trimmings from the time it was actually written, 1841.
I am just getting to know the play, so my feelings about it may well change, but at first brush I found it a little odd, but a lot of fun.
I am just getting to know the play, so my feelings about it may well change, but at first brush I found it a little odd, but a lot of fun.
May 2, 2012
A near-perfect play. Such a delight: crisp dialogue, multi-layered humour, and playful, 19th century sexual banter. A rare jewel from an otherwise banal period.
July 9, 2016
A rare jewel filled with boisterous fun and crisp witty writing.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews