The British Theatre by Elizabeth Inchbald

Definition

In 1806, playwright, novelist, and retired actor Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson 1753–1821) was commissioned to write 125 critical prefaces for a collection of plays titled The British Theatre. The collection was initially released serially over a span of 2 years before being published in a 25-volume edition in 1808. Inchbald’s prefaces marked the most substantial theatrical criticism ever to be written by a woman, and the commercial success of the collection confirmed her reputation as England’s preeminent woman dramatist and judge of theatrical taste. At the time, literary criticism was considered a uniquely masculine pursuit, and Inchbald’s criticism is therefore notable for offering a woman’s insider perspective on theatre-making. Playwright George Colman the Younger, whose plays featured heavily in The British Theatre, took issue with a woman criticizing his work and sent a disparaging letter to her publisher that was later printed in the collection alongside...