Inchbald (née Simpson), Elizabeth

Abstract

Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson 1753–1821) was a celebrated actor, playwright, novelist, and theater critic. Beginning in the 1770s, she performed for 17 years on stages across Scotland, Ireland, the English provinces, and in London at the Covent Garden and the Haymarket theaters. In 1784, Inchbald launched her writing career in the theater with her first farce, The Mogul Tale, which was followed by approximately 20 more productions–all comedies and afterpieces–over the next two decades. During the 1790s, Inchbald published two financially and critically successful novels, A Simple Story (1791) and Nature and Art (1796). By the turn of the century, Inchbald was one of the most well-known literary figures in England, and she was consequently invited to publish a series of critical essays for a prestigious 25-volume collection of plays titled The British Theatre (1806–1808). This popular collection marked the most significant body of theatrical criticism–widely considered a masculine genre–to ever have been written by a woman. Recent scholarship has focused on recovering Inchbald’s remarkable legacy, particularly in relation to her commentary on imperialism, gender inequality, and class oppression.