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Our American Cousin: A Drama, In Three Acts
""Our American Cousin"" is a three-act play written by Tom Taylor in 1869. The play is a comedy that tells the story of an American man named Asa Trenchard, who travels to England to claim an inheritance. Along the way, he meets his English relatives and gets caught up in their romantic entanglements and social dramas. The play is best known for its association with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, who was watching a performance of the play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Despite its tragic history, ""Our American Cousin"" remains a popular play and is often performed in theaters around the world. The play is known for its witty dialogue, colorful characters, and lighthearted tone. It is a classic example of Victorian-era theater and offers a glimpse into the social norms and customs of the time.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
54 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1919
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About the author
Tom Taylor
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Tom Taylor (1817-1880) was a dramatist and editor of Punch magazine. He was born in England. After attending school there, and studying for two sessions at the University of Glasgow, he entered Trinity College at Cambridge University in 1837. He began his working life as a journalist. Soon after moving to London, Taylor wrote for the Morning Chronicle and the Daily News. He was on the staff of Punch until 1874, when he succeeded Charles William Shirley Brooks as editor. For two years Taylor was a professor of English literature at University College, London. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple, and went on the northern circuit until he became assistant secretary of the Board of Health in 1850. On the reconstruction of the Board in 1854 he was made secretary, and on its abolition his services were transferred to a department of the Home Office, retiring on a pension in 1876. Amongst his other works are Our American Cousin (1858) and The Ticket-of-Leave Man.
Tom Taylor (1817-1880) was a dramatist and editor of Punch magazine. He was born in England. After attending school there, and studying for two sessions at the University of Glasgow, he entered Trinity College at Cambridge University in 1837. He began his working life as a journalist. Soon after moving to London, Taylor wrote for the Morning Chronicle and the Daily News. He was on the staff of Punch until 1874, when he succeeded Charles William Shirley Brooks as editor. For two years Taylor was a professor of English literature at University College, London. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple, and went on the northern circuit until he became assistant secretary of the Board of Health in 1850. On the reconstruction of the Board in 1854 he was made secretary, and on its abolition his services were transferred to a department of the Home Office, retiring on a pension in 1876. Amongst his other works are Our American Cousin (1858) and The Ticket-of-Leave Man.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 2, 2013
Abraham Lincoln spent his final hours watching a phenomenally silly play.
May 19, 2018
This play is memorable only because it was the one President Lincoln was watching when he was shot. The line which served as Booth's cue to fire the fatal shot, "You sockdologizing old man-trap", occurs three fourths of the way through, and now that I have read the play, I can't help but think it would have been a kindness to the President to shoot him earlier. According to a recent clue on "Jeopardy", this play was last performed in the United States in 1915. One wonders why it was performed even then. It is perfectly dreadful. I find it hard to believe that people found this play funny even in the nineteenth century. I wanted to read it only out of curiosity, and now my curiosity has been satisfied.
September 12, 2022
2.5, rounded up.
Although I'm fairly sure I had to read this 30 years ago for my doctoral comprehensives, I had no memory of it - and only returned to it after reading Booker candidate Booth, as its primary claim to fame is that it was the play Lincoln was viewing when he was assassinated. It's a fairly benign and occasionally witty comedy, relying heavily on verbal gymnastics and physical bits, which were apparently largely added by the original actor playing Dundreary - the script now incorporates those, although not written by playwright Taylor. It hasn't been performed in over a century, and one can see why.
Although I'm fairly sure I had to read this 30 years ago for my doctoral comprehensives, I had no memory of it - and only returned to it after reading Booker candidate Booth, as its primary claim to fame is that it was the play Lincoln was viewing when he was assassinated. It's a fairly benign and occasionally witty comedy, relying heavily on verbal gymnastics and physical bits, which were apparently largely added by the original actor playing Dundreary - the script now incorporates those, although not written by playwright Taylor. It hasn't been performed in over a century, and one can see why.
February 16, 2016
Some of us knew that when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on the evening of April 14, 1865, at Washington, D.C. 19s Ford 19s Theater, he was in the middle of watching a play called 1COur American Cousin. 1D Until this past week, I had not read that play, and knew only a few tidbits about it. This book is divided into three parts: an introduction by Welford Dunaway Taylor that looks at the history of the play and of the day that led up to Lincoln 19s murder; the play itself, which had been written in 1851 by Englishman Tom Taylor; appendices including cast lists and a poem from a May 1865 issue of the British periodical 1CPunch 1D remembering Lincoln and explicitly regretting the merciless fun the magazine had made of Lincoln for the previous four to five years.
The publication of 19th century theater lore reminds us that much of this lore, though it was well-known at the time, is lost to us today. There are few records of the mid-19th century aside from the written ones that no one would have any reason to consult today. Even a fan of live theater can get little of what he wants out of a dry account of a stage performance that occurred a century before his own birth.
Still, it is interesting to know what the play was about, how it came to be performed the day of the assassination and what impact the play had on popular culture of its day both before and after it came to be associated with Lincoln 19s death.
The surprise history of the play is that after it was sold to a London producer in 1851, it was not performed in England before it was performed in America. The rights to the play went to an American actor named Joshua Silsbee who also never performed it. The playwright then regained control of the play but sold it to another American actor-producer named Laura Keene. Keene was not too keen on putting it on but since she had paid $1000 for it she felt she had to. It was performed in New York in 1858, actually became a hit and was performed in London for the first time in 1861. The Ford Theater production appears to have included only Keene from the original New York cast.
Welford Taylor, the editor of this edition believes that Lincoln had seen the play before. (So banish any thought that his not seeing the play to its end overshadowed the tragedy of his death.) Indeed, there is some mystery about why Lincoln went to that play. Originally, he planned to take General U.S. Grant to see 1CAladdin 1D at the Grover Theater, but on the day of the play, he decided to go the 1COur American Cousin 1D instead. Possibly he thought that Grant might enjoy that more than 1CAladdin, 1D but, if so, that consideration was rendered moot when the general informed the president that he urgently needed to be in Philadelphia and could not stay in Washington another night. There is evidence that the Lincoln 19s considered scrapping the whole idea of going to a show, but the afternoon newspapers had already published the news of the president 19s attendance at the Ford. Apparently, Lincoln did not want to disappoint the public, so he went anyway. (The Lincoln 19s son, Tad, went with his tutor to see 1CAladdin, 1D however.)
Naturally, the newspaper story also alerted actor John Wilkes Booth to the Lincoln 19s theater plans. For anyone by some chance not aware of it, Booth was the one who shot the president in the back of the head while he was watching the play. The theater was the perfect venue for this assassin. He knew the Ford very well and also knew most of the people who worked there. When he arrived at the entrance that night, a theater employee named James Buckingham tried to take his ticket. Booth had none, but he said, 1CYou don 19t need a ticket [from me], Buck 1D and was let in. (From this we can see why security measures against gate-crashers must not be taken lightly.)
The reconstruction of the play is not so straightforward as you might think. The publication of plays as their authors intended them is a modern convention. More often in the history of theater, the text of a play was kept secret for as long as possible so that only the company authorized to perform it could do so according to the authentic version. Add to that the fact that 1COur American Cousin 1D was drastically rewritten by its American production company. It was actually turned from a melodrama with comic relief into a comedy with a melodramatic plot base. The minor character Lord Dundreary was transformed into the character everyone remembered and raved about, thanks to the brilliant comic actor Edward A. Sothern who first played the role and came to own it. (He was, however, not in the play that Lincoln saw, although it is certain that E.A. Emerson played it Sothern 19s way as audiences had come to expect.)
This edition of the play also makes a point of presenting dialogue as it was ad libbed on the night of the assassination. There are two ad libs that are known to have been inserted for the president 19s benefit. These are noted in this text. The first occurred when the Lincoln 19s arrived nearly half-way through the Act 1, Scene 1. The character 19s were discussing whether or not everyone got a joke. Emerson 19s line was, 1CShe don 19t see it. 1D At which point Laura Keene said, 1CAnybody can see that, 1D and she indicated the Lincoln 19s in their box next to and just above the stage where they were being seated at that moment. A little later, in Act 2, Scene 2, the actress M. Hart said her line, 1CI am afraid of the draft here, 1D referring of course to the cold air her character supposedly experienced. Immediately, Emerson ad libbed, 1CDon 19t be alarmed; there is no more draft, 1D referring to the fact that the Civil War had just ended and there was no more military conscription.
Then it was just halfway through Act 3, Scene 2, while actor Harry Hawk was shouting after characters who had just walked offstage, when Booth fired the fatal shot. He knew the play and that, at that moment, Hawk would be the only actor on stage and that he would be shouting. After shooting the president, Booth leaped onto the stage 14which could have been easy, but he snagged one of his spurs on the bunting on the president 19s box so that he broke a leg on the stage. Booth cried out 1CSic semper tyrannus, 1D Latin for 1CThus to all tyrants. 1D Then he rushed backstage in spite of his injury, slashing the orchestra conductor with a knife on the way. He went out the back door and into the alley where he had a horse waiting for him. Booth managed to escape to Virginia, but he was hunted down and killed ten days later. Several men and women were convicted of conspiring with Booth, and they were subsequently hanged.
The text of the play raises some problems. There are many places where 1Cbusiness 1D is indicated, meaning that the actors do some nonverbal gags that we can sometimes guess but other times cannot. Also, there are a few places where stage directions are clearly wrong. A speaker might address two or more other characters separately within a single speech, but, in one instance, the character Mary, should be addressed first, but she is instead addressed second. In another instance, the stage directions are a bit confusing with Lord Dundreary sitting on Georgina 19s lap just before she is supposed to go down stage.
Finally, in my edition, there seems to be a missing illustration. 1CBritannia Sympathizes with Columbia 1D by British artist John Tenniel is mentioned on page 100 but is nowhere to be found. But much of this book is about the attitude of the British toward Americans and vice versa. That is what the play is about, and that is what Civil War brought forth as the British first sided with the Confederate States and criticized Lincoln, but finally regretted the bad relations between the United States and Great Britain. The kicker is that Tom Taylor, the author of 1COur American Cousin, 1D the play Lincoln was watching on the night of his assassination, was on the staff of 1CPunch, 1D the British magazine that had been so critical of Lincoln, and which so publicly represented the change in British sentiment when news of the assassination reached Britain. Taylor subsequently became the editor of 1CPunch. 1D It would have been even neater if the ode to Abraham Lincoln published in 1CPunch 1D and reprinted in this book had been by Taylor, too, and there have been those who suggested that this was so; however, the editor of this book quotes a reliable source as attributing the poem to Shirley Brooks, a different future editor of the magazine.
The publication of 19th century theater lore reminds us that much of this lore, though it was well-known at the time, is lost to us today. There are few records of the mid-19th century aside from the written ones that no one would have any reason to consult today. Even a fan of live theater can get little of what he wants out of a dry account of a stage performance that occurred a century before his own birth.
Still, it is interesting to know what the play was about, how it came to be performed the day of the assassination and what impact the play had on popular culture of its day both before and after it came to be associated with Lincoln 19s death.
The surprise history of the play is that after it was sold to a London producer in 1851, it was not performed in England before it was performed in America. The rights to the play went to an American actor named Joshua Silsbee who also never performed it. The playwright then regained control of the play but sold it to another American actor-producer named Laura Keene. Keene was not too keen on putting it on but since she had paid $1000 for it she felt she had to. It was performed in New York in 1858, actually became a hit and was performed in London for the first time in 1861. The Ford Theater production appears to have included only Keene from the original New York cast.
Welford Taylor, the editor of this edition believes that Lincoln had seen the play before. (So banish any thought that his not seeing the play to its end overshadowed the tragedy of his death.) Indeed, there is some mystery about why Lincoln went to that play. Originally, he planned to take General U.S. Grant to see 1CAladdin 1D at the Grover Theater, but on the day of the play, he decided to go the 1COur American Cousin 1D instead. Possibly he thought that Grant might enjoy that more than 1CAladdin, 1D but, if so, that consideration was rendered moot when the general informed the president that he urgently needed to be in Philadelphia and could not stay in Washington another night. There is evidence that the Lincoln 19s considered scrapping the whole idea of going to a show, but the afternoon newspapers had already published the news of the president 19s attendance at the Ford. Apparently, Lincoln did not want to disappoint the public, so he went anyway. (The Lincoln 19s son, Tad, went with his tutor to see 1CAladdin, 1D however.)
Naturally, the newspaper story also alerted actor John Wilkes Booth to the Lincoln 19s theater plans. For anyone by some chance not aware of it, Booth was the one who shot the president in the back of the head while he was watching the play. The theater was the perfect venue for this assassin. He knew the Ford very well and also knew most of the people who worked there. When he arrived at the entrance that night, a theater employee named James Buckingham tried to take his ticket. Booth had none, but he said, 1CYou don 19t need a ticket [from me], Buck 1D and was let in. (From this we can see why security measures against gate-crashers must not be taken lightly.)
The reconstruction of the play is not so straightforward as you might think. The publication of plays as their authors intended them is a modern convention. More often in the history of theater, the text of a play was kept secret for as long as possible so that only the company authorized to perform it could do so according to the authentic version. Add to that the fact that 1COur American Cousin 1D was drastically rewritten by its American production company. It was actually turned from a melodrama with comic relief into a comedy with a melodramatic plot base. The minor character Lord Dundreary was transformed into the character everyone remembered and raved about, thanks to the brilliant comic actor Edward A. Sothern who first played the role and came to own it. (He was, however, not in the play that Lincoln saw, although it is certain that E.A. Emerson played it Sothern 19s way as audiences had come to expect.)
This edition of the play also makes a point of presenting dialogue as it was ad libbed on the night of the assassination. There are two ad libs that are known to have been inserted for the president 19s benefit. These are noted in this text. The first occurred when the Lincoln 19s arrived nearly half-way through the Act 1, Scene 1. The character 19s were discussing whether or not everyone got a joke. Emerson 19s line was, 1CShe don 19t see it. 1D At which point Laura Keene said, 1CAnybody can see that, 1D and she indicated the Lincoln 19s in their box next to and just above the stage where they were being seated at that moment. A little later, in Act 2, Scene 2, the actress M. Hart said her line, 1CI am afraid of the draft here, 1D referring of course to the cold air her character supposedly experienced. Immediately, Emerson ad libbed, 1CDon 19t be alarmed; there is no more draft, 1D referring to the fact that the Civil War had just ended and there was no more military conscription.
Then it was just halfway through Act 3, Scene 2, while actor Harry Hawk was shouting after characters who had just walked offstage, when Booth fired the fatal shot. He knew the play and that, at that moment, Hawk would be the only actor on stage and that he would be shouting. After shooting the president, Booth leaped onto the stage 14which could have been easy, but he snagged one of his spurs on the bunting on the president 19s box so that he broke a leg on the stage. Booth cried out 1CSic semper tyrannus, 1D Latin for 1CThus to all tyrants. 1D Then he rushed backstage in spite of his injury, slashing the orchestra conductor with a knife on the way. He went out the back door and into the alley where he had a horse waiting for him. Booth managed to escape to Virginia, but he was hunted down and killed ten days later. Several men and women were convicted of conspiring with Booth, and they were subsequently hanged.
The text of the play raises some problems. There are many places where 1Cbusiness 1D is indicated, meaning that the actors do some nonverbal gags that we can sometimes guess but other times cannot. Also, there are a few places where stage directions are clearly wrong. A speaker might address two or more other characters separately within a single speech, but, in one instance, the character Mary, should be addressed first, but she is instead addressed second. In another instance, the stage directions are a bit confusing with Lord Dundreary sitting on Georgina 19s lap just before she is supposed to go down stage.
Finally, in my edition, there seems to be a missing illustration. 1CBritannia Sympathizes with Columbia 1D by British artist John Tenniel is mentioned on page 100 but is nowhere to be found. But much of this book is about the attitude of the British toward Americans and vice versa. That is what the play is about, and that is what Civil War brought forth as the British first sided with the Confederate States and criticized Lincoln, but finally regretted the bad relations between the United States and Great Britain. The kicker is that Tom Taylor, the author of 1COur American Cousin, 1D the play Lincoln was watching on the night of his assassination, was on the staff of 1CPunch, 1D the British magazine that had been so critical of Lincoln, and which so publicly represented the change in British sentiment when news of the assassination reached Britain. Taylor subsequently became the editor of 1CPunch. 1D It would have been even neater if the ode to Abraham Lincoln published in 1CPunch 1D and reprinted in this book had been by Taylor, too, and there have been those who suggested that this was so; however, the editor of this book quotes a reliable source as attributing the poem to Shirley Brooks, a different future editor of the magazine.
November 8, 2021
This play would probably not have survived the 19th century if it had not been made famous by the Assassination of President Lincoln in its third act.
Somewhere it tries to be in the witty style of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and maybe in the social-cultural style of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (to become My Fair Lady on the silver screen). The main characteristic is the play on words, and when I say words, I mean words. Let me give one example, the play-game-competition on the word “draught.”
MRS. MOUTCHESSINGTON: Oh, a very refreshing [night], thanks to the draught you were kind enough to prescribe for [Georgina, Ms. Mountchessington’s daughter], Lord Dundreary.
FLORENCE: What! Has Lord Dundreary been prescribing for Georgina?
DUNDREARY: Yeh. You see I gave her a draught that cured the effect of the draught, and that draught was a draft that didn’t pay the doctor’s bill. Didn’t that draught –
FLORENCE: Good gracious! What a number of draughts. You have almost a game of draughts. (Act 1 Scene 1)
And Georgina will bring the play on this word back into the picture later on in the play (the audience will of course remember):
GEORGINA: If you please, ask the dairy maid to let me have a seat in the dairy. I am afraid of the draft, here.
DUNDREARY: Oh! You want to get out of the draft, do you? Well, you’re not the only one that wants to escape the draft. (Act 3, Scene 2)
The American Cousin is not as witty with words as these English aristocrats. His language is funny because of the American animals, and Indians among other “exotic” references he uses, plus of course the strange language of his. He can even be provocative when he is invited to take part in the archery game in the afternoon and he is provided with an archery suit, and then he retorts that in his country to play with bows and arrows most people – implying those who play those games there, meaning Indians – are dressed only in their Adam-and-Eve skin with some red paint to enhance it, and he even insists that archers there do not want to lend their natural attire or archery skinny suit, which explains why he, Asa Trenchard, does not have one. The ladies should be shocked with this allusion to Red Indians “playing” bows and arrows in the nude. “In the nude!? My Goodness, Good Gracious! Almighty Lord of Decency!” Or so would the local Anglican priest speak in his Sunday sermon.
But the whole play is based on a simple plot. An aristocratic family is on the brink of bankruptcy because their notary or lawyer or whatever you may call this agent has been speculating with their money and managing some big sham to appropriate the estate for his own and sole good. Luckily, the American Cousin arrives and first, reveals to Mary, the granddaughter of the American head of the American branch of the family that this grandfather of hers has willed his whole British property, the dairy farm, to her along with a fair amount of cash. And second, he exposes the misappropriation of the estate of the British branch of the family by the agent, Mr. Coyle (everything to do with a coiling serpent), and he forces him to step down after repairing the damage and reinstating into the family a certain Abel Murcott who used to be the teacher of the daughters of the family, Florence and Mary, but was ousted because he dared propose to Florence, a plebeian proposing to an aristocrat is like a crime against the queen of England, Queen Victoria at the time, like stealing a horse in the United States of America. Florence accepts his return and his contrition.
But this American Cousin, Asa Trenchard, plays the role of the goddess of matrimony, like in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but he overdoes it since he goes beyond four marriages, and one of the couples is himself with Mary, his distant cousin, now opulently endowed with her grandfather’s inheritance. We thus have a full overflowing galore of marriages and weddings, all perfectly fitted to circumstances with what is necessary to have and manage a happy business, and I do say business because what is provided in each case is some business opportunity, like the Captain position, captain-dom or captain-ship or captain-ness, on a ship for Harry Vernon who will marry Florence Trenchard now he is slightly more than a plain plebeian petty sailor. This American Cousin seen as the American benefactor and liberator (from bankruptcy, not from aristocratic vanity) of the good old English branch of his own family is flattering the national pride of an American audience but it does not have the British humor of Oscar Wilde and his Canterville Ghost story, and the American iconoclastic boys shooting peas with a peashooter at the poor ghost who is just trying to do his anachronistic Disneyland job, which is to haunt the castle of Canterville. Here it is more if not only a double question: who is going to get the money and estate, and who is going to get married to whom in a clean and normal hormonal adventure. Americans are pragmatic: money first, procreation second, and the two covered by the most opportunistic word in the world’s psyche, i.e., “LOVE,” the perfect misnomer.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
VERSION FRANÇAISE
Cette pièce n'aurait probablement pas survécu au 19ème siècle si elle n'avait pas été rendue célèbre par l'assassinat du président Lincoln dans son troisième acte.
Quelque part, elle essaie d'être dans le style spirituel de « L'importance d'être constant » d'Oscar Wilde et peut-être dans le style socio-culturel de « Pygmalion » de Bernard Shaw (qui deviendra « My Fair Lady » sur le grand écran). La principale caractéristique est les jeux subtils sur les mots polysémiques ou plurivoques, et quand je dis mots, je veux dire mots, ni plus ni moins. Laissez-moi vous donner un exemple, le jeu-concours sur le mot "draught" en anglais bien sûr. Cela ne fonctionne pas en français
MRS. MOUTCHESSINGTON : Oh, une [nuit] très rafraîchissante, grâce à la potion que vous avez eu la gentillesse de prescrire à [Georgina, la fille de Mme Mountchessington], Lord Dundreary.
FLORENCE : Quoi ! Lord Dundreary a prescrit des médicaments [celui-là est ajouté en français] pour Georgina ?
DUNDREARY : Oui. Je lui ai donné une potion qui a guéri l'effet des courants d'air, et cette potion était un retrait [à la banque] qui n'a pas payé la facture du médecin. Ce retrait n’a-t-il pas ...
FLORENCE : Mon Dieu ! Quel nombre de potion/retrait/courant d’air [intraduisible]. Vous avez presque un jeu de dames complet. (Acte 1, scène 1)
Et Georgina remettra en selle le jeu de ce mot plus tard dans la pièce (le public s'en souviendra bien sûr) :
GEORGINA : S'il vous plaît, demandez à la laitière/crémière de me laisser m’asseoir dans la laiterie/crémerie. Je crains le courant d'air, ici.
DUNDREARY : Oh ! Vous voulez mettre à l’abri des courants d’air, n'est-ce pas ? Eh bien, vous n'êtes pas la seule à vouloir échapper à la conscription. (Acte 3, scène 2)
Le cousin américain n'est pas aussi spirituel avec les mots que ces aristocrates anglais. Son langage est drôle à cause des animaux américains, les Indiens entre autres références "exotiques" qu'il utilise, sans oublier son langage étrange pour ne pas dire étranger. Il peut même être provocateur lorsqu'il est invité à participer au tournoi de tir à l'arc dans l'après-midi et qu'on lui fournit un costume d’archer, et qu'il rétorque que dans son pays, pour jouer avec des arcs et des flèches, la plupart des gens – sous-entendus ceux qui jouent à ces jeux là-bas, c'est-à-dire les Indiens – ne sont vêtus que de leur peau d'Adam et Eve avec un peu de peinture rouge pour la mettre en valeur, et il insiste même sur le fait que les archers là-bas ne veulent pas prêter leur costume de tir à l'arc, version nature, ce qui explique pourquoi lui, Asa Trenchard, n'en a pas un présentement. Les dames devraient être choquées par cette allusion aux peaux rouges qui "jouent" à l'arc et aux flèches, nus. « Tout nus » ? « Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu ! Seigneur tout-puissant ! Cachez ce sceptre que je ne saurais voir ! Castrez ce goupillon que je ne saurais regarder !" C'est du moins ce que dirait le prêtre anglican local dans son sermon du dimanche.
Mais toute la pièce est basée sur une intrigue simple. Une famille aristocratique est au bord de la faillite parce que son notaire ou son avocat, sous quelque nom qu'on puisse lui donner, a spéculé avec leur argent et organisé une grosse malversation pour s'approprier la succession à son seul et unique profit. Heureusement, le cousin d’Amérique arrive et révèle d'abord à Mary, la petite-fille de l’aïeul de la branche américaine de la famille, que ce grand-père lui a légué toute ses biens britanniques, la ferme laitière, ainsi qu'une bonne somme d'argent. Ensuite, il dénonce le détournement des biens de la branche britannique de la famille par l'agent, M. Coyle (directe allusion à un serpent lové et dressé, prêt à l’attaque, « coiled » en anglais), et il l'oblige à se retirer après avoir réparé et dédommagé les dégâts et les victimes, et réintégré dans la famille un certain Abel Murcott qui était le professeur des filles, Florence et Mary, mais qui a été chassé parce qu'il avait osé courtiser Florence, un plébéien demandant en mariage une aristocrate, ce qui est semblable à un crime de lèse-majesté, contre la reine Victoria en quelque sorte à l'époque, comparable au vol d'un cheval aux États-Unis d'Amérique. Florence accepte son retour et sa contrition.
Mais ce cousin d’Amérique, Asa Trenchard, joue le rôle de la déesse du mariage, comme dans « Le Songe d'une nuit d'été » de Shakespeare, mais il en fait plus que trop puisqu'il va au-delà de quatre mariages, et l'un des couples est lui-même avec Mary, sa cousine éloignée, maintenant richement dotée de l'héritage de son grand-père. Nous avons donc une pléthore de mariages et de noces, tous parfaitement adaptés aux circonstances et dotés de ce qui est nécessaire pour avoir et gérer une telle entreprise heureuse, et je dis bien une entreprise car ce qui est fourni dans chaque cas est une opportunité de business, comme le poste de capitaine, major, lieutenant, ou sous-lieutenant pourvu que ce soit d’un vaisseau, sur un navire de la marine nationale, et donc royale, pour Harry Vernon qui épousera Florence Trenchard maintenant qu'il est un peu plus qu'un simple petit marin plébéien : qu’importe le grade pourvu qu’on ait le vaisseau, et à condition que ce soit capitaine. Ce cousin d’Amérique considéré comme le bienfaiteur et le libérateur (de la faillite, et non de la vanité aristocratique) de la bonne vieille branche anglaise de sa propre famille flatte la fierté nationale d'un public américain, mais il n'a pas l'humour britannique d'Oscar Wilde et de son histoire du fantôme de Canterville, et des garçons américains iconoclastes bombardent à coup de sarbacane ce pauvre fantôme qui essaie simplement de faire son travail de spectre digne d’un Disneyland anachronique par anticipation, un travail qui consiste seulement à hanter le château de Canterville. Ici, il s'agit plutôt sinon uniquement d'une double question à même pas mille euros chacune : qui va avoir l'argent et le domaine, et qui va se marier avec qui dans une aventure hormonale propre et standard. Les Américains sont pragmatiques : l'argent d'abord, la procréation ensuite, et les deux couverts par le mot le plus opportuniste du psychisme mondial, à savoir " AMOUR ", la parfaite amphibologique sinon amphibolique polysémie.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Somewhere it tries to be in the witty style of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and maybe in the social-cultural style of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (to become My Fair Lady on the silver screen). The main characteristic is the play on words, and when I say words, I mean words. Let me give one example, the play-game-competition on the word “draught.”
MRS. MOUTCHESSINGTON: Oh, a very refreshing [night], thanks to the draught you were kind enough to prescribe for [Georgina, Ms. Mountchessington’s daughter], Lord Dundreary.
FLORENCE: What! Has Lord Dundreary been prescribing for Georgina?
DUNDREARY: Yeh. You see I gave her a draught that cured the effect of the draught, and that draught was a draft that didn’t pay the doctor’s bill. Didn’t that draught –
FLORENCE: Good gracious! What a number of draughts. You have almost a game of draughts. (Act 1 Scene 1)
And Georgina will bring the play on this word back into the picture later on in the play (the audience will of course remember):
GEORGINA: If you please, ask the dairy maid to let me have a seat in the dairy. I am afraid of the draft, here.
DUNDREARY: Oh! You want to get out of the draft, do you? Well, you’re not the only one that wants to escape the draft. (Act 3, Scene 2)
The American Cousin is not as witty with words as these English aristocrats. His language is funny because of the American animals, and Indians among other “exotic” references he uses, plus of course the strange language of his. He can even be provocative when he is invited to take part in the archery game in the afternoon and he is provided with an archery suit, and then he retorts that in his country to play with bows and arrows most people – implying those who play those games there, meaning Indians – are dressed only in their Adam-and-Eve skin with some red paint to enhance it, and he even insists that archers there do not want to lend their natural attire or archery skinny suit, which explains why he, Asa Trenchard, does not have one. The ladies should be shocked with this allusion to Red Indians “playing” bows and arrows in the nude. “In the nude!? My Goodness, Good Gracious! Almighty Lord of Decency!” Or so would the local Anglican priest speak in his Sunday sermon.
But the whole play is based on a simple plot. An aristocratic family is on the brink of bankruptcy because their notary or lawyer or whatever you may call this agent has been speculating with their money and managing some big sham to appropriate the estate for his own and sole good. Luckily, the American Cousin arrives and first, reveals to Mary, the granddaughter of the American head of the American branch of the family that this grandfather of hers has willed his whole British property, the dairy farm, to her along with a fair amount of cash. And second, he exposes the misappropriation of the estate of the British branch of the family by the agent, Mr. Coyle (everything to do with a coiling serpent), and he forces him to step down after repairing the damage and reinstating into the family a certain Abel Murcott who used to be the teacher of the daughters of the family, Florence and Mary, but was ousted because he dared propose to Florence, a plebeian proposing to an aristocrat is like a crime against the queen of England, Queen Victoria at the time, like stealing a horse in the United States of America. Florence accepts his return and his contrition.
But this American Cousin, Asa Trenchard, plays the role of the goddess of matrimony, like in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but he overdoes it since he goes beyond four marriages, and one of the couples is himself with Mary, his distant cousin, now opulently endowed with her grandfather’s inheritance. We thus have a full overflowing galore of marriages and weddings, all perfectly fitted to circumstances with what is necessary to have and manage a happy business, and I do say business because what is provided in each case is some business opportunity, like the Captain position, captain-dom or captain-ship or captain-ness, on a ship for Harry Vernon who will marry Florence Trenchard now he is slightly more than a plain plebeian petty sailor. This American Cousin seen as the American benefactor and liberator (from bankruptcy, not from aristocratic vanity) of the good old English branch of his own family is flattering the national pride of an American audience but it does not have the British humor of Oscar Wilde and his Canterville Ghost story, and the American iconoclastic boys shooting peas with a peashooter at the poor ghost who is just trying to do his anachronistic Disneyland job, which is to haunt the castle of Canterville. Here it is more if not only a double question: who is going to get the money and estate, and who is going to get married to whom in a clean and normal hormonal adventure. Americans are pragmatic: money first, procreation second, and the two covered by the most opportunistic word in the world’s psyche, i.e., “LOVE,” the perfect misnomer.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
VERSION FRANÇAISE
Cette pièce n'aurait probablement pas survécu au 19ème siècle si elle n'avait pas été rendue célèbre par l'assassinat du président Lincoln dans son troisième acte.
Quelque part, elle essaie d'être dans le style spirituel de « L'importance d'être constant » d'Oscar Wilde et peut-être dans le style socio-culturel de « Pygmalion » de Bernard Shaw (qui deviendra « My Fair Lady » sur le grand écran). La principale caractéristique est les jeux subtils sur les mots polysémiques ou plurivoques, et quand je dis mots, je veux dire mots, ni plus ni moins. Laissez-moi vous donner un exemple, le jeu-concours sur le mot "draught" en anglais bien sûr. Cela ne fonctionne pas en français
MRS. MOUTCHESSINGTON : Oh, une [nuit] très rafraîchissante, grâce à la potion que vous avez eu la gentillesse de prescrire à [Georgina, la fille de Mme Mountchessington], Lord Dundreary.
FLORENCE : Quoi ! Lord Dundreary a prescrit des médicaments [celui-là est ajouté en français] pour Georgina ?
DUNDREARY : Oui. Je lui ai donné une potion qui a guéri l'effet des courants d'air, et cette potion était un retrait [à la banque] qui n'a pas payé la facture du médecin. Ce retrait n’a-t-il pas ...
FLORENCE : Mon Dieu ! Quel nombre de potion/retrait/courant d’air [intraduisible]. Vous avez presque un jeu de dames complet. (Acte 1, scène 1)
Et Georgina remettra en selle le jeu de ce mot plus tard dans la pièce (le public s'en souviendra bien sûr) :
GEORGINA : S'il vous plaît, demandez à la laitière/crémière de me laisser m’asseoir dans la laiterie/crémerie. Je crains le courant d'air, ici.
DUNDREARY : Oh ! Vous voulez mettre à l’abri des courants d’air, n'est-ce pas ? Eh bien, vous n'êtes pas la seule à vouloir échapper à la conscription. (Acte 3, scène 2)
Le cousin américain n'est pas aussi spirituel avec les mots que ces aristocrates anglais. Son langage est drôle à cause des animaux américains, les Indiens entre autres références "exotiques" qu'il utilise, sans oublier son langage étrange pour ne pas dire étranger. Il peut même être provocateur lorsqu'il est invité à participer au tournoi de tir à l'arc dans l'après-midi et qu'on lui fournit un costume d’archer, et qu'il rétorque que dans son pays, pour jouer avec des arcs et des flèches, la plupart des gens – sous-entendus ceux qui jouent à ces jeux là-bas, c'est-à-dire les Indiens – ne sont vêtus que de leur peau d'Adam et Eve avec un peu de peinture rouge pour la mettre en valeur, et il insiste même sur le fait que les archers là-bas ne veulent pas prêter leur costume de tir à l'arc, version nature, ce qui explique pourquoi lui, Asa Trenchard, n'en a pas un présentement. Les dames devraient être choquées par cette allusion aux peaux rouges qui "jouent" à l'arc et aux flèches, nus. « Tout nus » ? « Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu ! Seigneur tout-puissant ! Cachez ce sceptre que je ne saurais voir ! Castrez ce goupillon que je ne saurais regarder !" C'est du moins ce que dirait le prêtre anglican local dans son sermon du dimanche.
Mais toute la pièce est basée sur une intrigue simple. Une famille aristocratique est au bord de la faillite parce que son notaire ou son avocat, sous quelque nom qu'on puisse lui donner, a spéculé avec leur argent et organisé une grosse malversation pour s'approprier la succession à son seul et unique profit. Heureusement, le cousin d’Amérique arrive et révèle d'abord à Mary, la petite-fille de l’aïeul de la branche américaine de la famille, que ce grand-père lui a légué toute ses biens britanniques, la ferme laitière, ainsi qu'une bonne somme d'argent. Ensuite, il dénonce le détournement des biens de la branche britannique de la famille par l'agent, M. Coyle (directe allusion à un serpent lové et dressé, prêt à l’attaque, « coiled » en anglais), et il l'oblige à se retirer après avoir réparé et dédommagé les dégâts et les victimes, et réintégré dans la famille un certain Abel Murcott qui était le professeur des filles, Florence et Mary, mais qui a été chassé parce qu'il avait osé courtiser Florence, un plébéien demandant en mariage une aristocrate, ce qui est semblable à un crime de lèse-majesté, contre la reine Victoria en quelque sorte à l'époque, comparable au vol d'un cheval aux États-Unis d'Amérique. Florence accepte son retour et sa contrition.
Mais ce cousin d’Amérique, Asa Trenchard, joue le rôle de la déesse du mariage, comme dans « Le Songe d'une nuit d'été » de Shakespeare, mais il en fait plus que trop puisqu'il va au-delà de quatre mariages, et l'un des couples est lui-même avec Mary, sa cousine éloignée, maintenant richement dotée de l'héritage de son grand-père. Nous avons donc une pléthore de mariages et de noces, tous parfaitement adaptés aux circonstances et dotés de ce qui est nécessaire pour avoir et gérer une telle entreprise heureuse, et je dis bien une entreprise car ce qui est fourni dans chaque cas est une opportunité de business, comme le poste de capitaine, major, lieutenant, ou sous-lieutenant pourvu que ce soit d’un vaisseau, sur un navire de la marine nationale, et donc royale, pour Harry Vernon qui épousera Florence Trenchard maintenant qu'il est un peu plus qu'un simple petit marin plébéien : qu’importe le grade pourvu qu’on ait le vaisseau, et à condition que ce soit capitaine. Ce cousin d’Amérique considéré comme le bienfaiteur et le libérateur (de la faillite, et non de la vanité aristocratique) de la bonne vieille branche anglaise de sa propre famille flatte la fierté nationale d'un public américain, mais il n'a pas l'humour britannique d'Oscar Wilde et de son histoire du fantôme de Canterville, et des garçons américains iconoclastes bombardent à coup de sarbacane ce pauvre fantôme qui essaie simplement de faire son travail de spectre digne d’un Disneyland anachronique par anticipation, un travail qui consiste seulement à hanter le château de Canterville. Ici, il s'agit plutôt sinon uniquement d'une double question à même pas mille euros chacune : qui va avoir l'argent et le domaine, et qui va se marier avec qui dans une aventure hormonale propre et standard. Les Américains sont pragmatiques : l'argent d'abord, la procréation ensuite, et les deux couverts par le mot le plus opportuniste du psychisme mondial, à savoir " AMOUR ", la parfaite amphibologique sinon amphibolique polysémie.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
September 21, 2016
A cunning american, Asa Trenchard, descends on his British relations with an inheritance and a hankering to get a ring around their noses. Florence Trenchard wants to marry Vernon but Vernon has no ship. Georgina wants to marry Lord Dundreary, but Lord Dundreary is an idiot. Coyle wants to marry Florence but she is outside his station. And Mary will end up in poverty, because her inheritance actually goes to Asa.
There are some clever lines and wordplay, but boy is this play super dependent on the performance. Its structure is a bit dull and depends a lot on ad lib by the actors. Lord Dundreary's lunacy in particular feels stiff in writing, and requires an actor to breath some life into his wordplay.
I also just didn't really care about the characters (not even the obvious fan favorites, Asa and Dundreary). The plot is a slim vehicle for puns, many that have already lost their edge over time. One redeeming factor, however, is there is something edgy hiding beneath the romantic comedy -- a suicide attempt and some dark humor. It's ultimately OK, but definitely not a timeless classic.
There are some clever lines and wordplay, but boy is this play super dependent on the performance. Its structure is a bit dull and depends a lot on ad lib by the actors. Lord Dundreary's lunacy in particular feels stiff in writing, and requires an actor to breath some life into his wordplay.
I also just didn't really care about the characters (not even the obvious fan favorites, Asa and Dundreary). The plot is a slim vehicle for puns, many that have already lost their edge over time. One redeeming factor, however, is there is something edgy hiding beneath the romantic comedy -- a suicide attempt and some dark humor. It's ultimately OK, but definitely not a timeless classic.
October 18, 2018
I was dreading this because most of the reviews are quite negative. But I found that, with a little imagination, it isn't all that bad. The humor is definitely of the physical sort (hence the need for an imagination) and has equal fun with the Backwoodsy American and the Posh British cousins. Not great, but not mud either. I feel a little better now knowing that the movie that pictures Lincoln laughing before he was shot might have been accurate. *
* I know. Accuracy versus my feelings. A tough battle, as it is for most people.
* I know. Accuracy versus my feelings. A tough battle, as it is for most people.
Want to read
November 4, 2010[Play Lincoln was attending at Ford's Theater when assassinated]
November 3, 2014
Poor Abe. He really should have just stayed home.
December 11, 2024
This play is famous for being the one Abraham Lincoln¹ and his wife went to see on the night John Wilkes Booth avenged the destruction of his country. It led to the expression "Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?".
Anyway, the answer to that is 'Pretty good'. This edition is the 1858 edition with the cast listed as they appeared when the play was put on in New York. It contains a large cast, a complicated set with multiple entrances and would require huge resources to put on today. You could do it as a movie, but acceding to the IMDB, no-one has.
Various English people of the upper clases live in trepidation as their cousin from Vermont is coming to tea. What will this colonial be like? Well, he's as caricatured an American as the English people are and this play contains all the things that made Victorian comedy great, and we're spared any songs. The characters even use that most marvellous invention of the 18th century, the aside to the audience. Everyone is reconciled and their problems solved by the end, which closes with the conclusion to a running gag about sneezing.
While I wasn't guffawing, I can see how seeing this on stage, with comic timing and the laughter from the audience, would make this a marvellous play to watch. It's a pity it wasn't put on in Ford's Theatre in 1860, as thins might've turned out a lot better than they did. Ah, well.
1. It is incredibly hard to find websites critical of Abraha LIncoln.
Anyway, the answer to that is 'Pretty good'. This edition is the 1858 edition with the cast listed as they appeared when the play was put on in New York. It contains a large cast, a complicated set with multiple entrances and would require huge resources to put on today. You could do it as a movie, but acceding to the IMDB, no-one has.
Various English people of the upper clases live in trepidation as their cousin from Vermont is coming to tea. What will this colonial be like? Well, he's as caricatured an American as the English people are and this play contains all the things that made Victorian comedy great, and we're spared any songs. The characters even use that most marvellous invention of the 18th century, the aside to the audience. Everyone is reconciled and their problems solved by the end, which closes with the conclusion to a running gag about sneezing.
While I wasn't guffawing, I can see how seeing this on stage, with comic timing and the laughter from the audience, would make this a marvellous play to watch. It's a pity it wasn't put on in Ford's Theatre in 1860, as thins might've turned out a lot better than they did. Ah, well.
1. It is incredibly hard to find websites critical of Abraha LIncoln.
April 18, 2021
This play would probably have disappeared from common knowledge if not for its notoriety of being performed in Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865.
Written in 1852, it premiered in New York City in 1858 and is surprisingly still quite funny. There is a lot of clever wordplay and banter written in a style later perfected by comics such as the Marx Brothers.
"Have you seen a small bottle?"
"Was it a small bottle?"
"A small bottle."
"Blue label?"
"Label blue."
"Red sealing wax on the top?"
"Red sealing wax."
"Nice little bottle?"
"Little bottle nice."
"I ain't seen it."
Called by many names, including the "illustrious exile" and that "American savage," the American cousin outwits and assists his English relatives while they have a bit of fun at his expense as well. "No pork and beans!" "Pork's been here but he's left."
All loose ends are neatly tied up at the end and, unfortunately, Abraham Lincoln did not "absquatulate" the theatre before Act III, Scene 2 when the crowd-pleasing phrase "you sockdologizing old mantrap" was spoken.
"It's so seldom I get an idea that when I do get one it startles me." Reading this short play was a good idea.
Written in 1852, it premiered in New York City in 1858 and is surprisingly still quite funny. There is a lot of clever wordplay and banter written in a style later perfected by comics such as the Marx Brothers.
"Have you seen a small bottle?"
"Was it a small bottle?"
"A small bottle."
"Blue label?"
"Label blue."
"Red sealing wax on the top?"
"Red sealing wax."
"Nice little bottle?"
"Little bottle nice."
"I ain't seen it."
Called by many names, including the "illustrious exile" and that "American savage," the American cousin outwits and assists his English relatives while they have a bit of fun at his expense as well. "No pork and beans!" "Pork's been here but he's left."
All loose ends are neatly tied up at the end and, unfortunately, Abraham Lincoln did not "absquatulate" the theatre before Act III, Scene 2 when the crowd-pleasing phrase "you sockdologizing old mantrap" was spoken.
"It's so seldom I get an idea that when I do get one it startles me." Reading this short play was a good idea.
June 30, 2025
Please see Miles Nilsson's 4-star review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... about an edition that might well be worth looking at.
Me, I tried to read the Project Gutenberg edition, derived from what seems to be a bare version of the "melodrama with comic relief" that Taylor wrote, before Sothern, Lord Dundreary's actor, got at it.
I cannot recommend PG's free-to-all version. I gave up at the Act I scene change. Any audience that can laugh at a character, e.g., confusing wigs with wings is one that excludes me.
Me, I tried to read the Project Gutenberg edition, derived from what seems to be a bare version of the "melodrama with comic relief" that Taylor wrote, before Sothern, Lord Dundreary's actor, got at it.
I cannot recommend PG's free-to-all version. I gave up at the Act I scene change. Any audience that can laugh at a character, e.g., confusing wigs with wings is one that excludes me.
March 4, 2020
Rather unintentionally funny by modern standards. It is effectively funny where it was intended to be funny, but it was overblown and snickeringly funny in places that were supposed to be a bit more serious. It definitely has some hallmarks of the "well-made play" of the era.
Yes, this was the play that Lincoln was watching when he was murdered by John Wilkes Booth.
Yes, this was the play that Lincoln was watching when he was murdered by John Wilkes Booth.
December 11, 2020
Enjoyed the substantial overview of the history of the play and its connection to Lincoln's assassination. The play is silly, but also witty. Seeing the footnotes about the details from the infamous performance was interesting.
December 13, 2020
Cute, a bit silly, very wholesome
I loved this cute little play. It only took about an hour to read. I wish it didn’t have such a bad reputation, it would make a lovely hallmark channel movie.
I loved this cute little play. It only took about an hour to read. I wish it didn’t have such a bad reputation, it would make a lovely hallmark channel movie.
March 21, 2024
I saw a stage read of the play tonight that featured a concurrent historical timeline of the conspiracy and assassination. The play itself is pretty corny, but the timeline made it interesting. Because of it, I bumped my rating up a star.
May 1, 2022
This would have been hilarious to see. Innocuous goofy comedy, everybody gets married in the end.
November 6, 2024
i didn't like it but apparently lincoln thought it was to die for.
January 2, 2020
Quite comedic.
June 16, 2023
Pretty boring but Dundry saves it
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