Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Such Things Are: 'How different does his Lordship appear to me, to me he is all politesse''
    Such Things Are: 'How different does his Lordship appear to me, to me he is all politesse''
    Such Things Are: 'How different does his Lordship appear to me, to me he is all politesse''
    Ebook114 pages1 hour

    Such Things Are: 'How different does his Lordship appear to me, to me he is all politesse''

    By Mrs Inchbald

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Elizabeth Simpson was born on 15th October 1753 at Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

    Despite the fact that she suffered from a debilitating stammer she was determined to become an actress.

    In April 1772, Elizabeth left, without permission, for London to pursue her chosen career. Although she was successful in obtaining parts her audiences, at first, found it difficult to admire her talents given her speech impediment. However, Elizabeth was diligent and hard-working on attempting to overcome this hurdle. She spent much time concentrating on pronunciation in order to eliminate the stammer. Her acting, although at times stilted, especially in monologues, gained praise for her approach for her well-developed characters.

    That same year she married Joseph Inchbald and a few months later they appeared for the first time together on stage in ‘King Lear’. The following month they toured Scotland with the West Digges's theatre company. This was to continue for several years.

    Completely unexpectedly Joseph died in June 1779. It was now in the years after her husband’s death that Elizabeth decided on a new literary path. With no attachments and acting taking up only some of her time she decided to write plays.

    Her first play to be performed was ‘A Mogul Tale or, The Descent of the Balloon’, in 1784, in which she also played the leading female role of Selina. The play was premiered at the Haymarket Theatre.

    One of the things that separated Elizabeth from other contemporary playwrights was her ability to translate plays from German and French into English for an audience that was ever-hungry for new works.

    Her success as a playwright enabled Elizabeth to support herself and have no need of a husband to support her. Between 1784 and 1805 she had 19 of her comedies, sentimental dramas, and farces (many of them translations from the French) performed at London theatres. She is usually credited as Mrs Inchbald.

    Mrs Elizabeth Inchbald died on 1st August 1821 in Kensington, London.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStage Door
    Release dateMay 1, 2019
    ISBN9781787805378
    Such Things Are: 'How different does his Lordship appear to me, to me he is all politesse''

    Read more from Mrs Inchbald

    Related to Such Things Are

    Related ebooks

    Performing Arts For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Lamport Hall

      Mar 7, 2024

      Lamport Hall
      6 min read

    • Article

      Arts

      Sep 20, 2023

      HARRY MOUNT THE MIRACLE CLUB (12A) The immortal Alan Partridge once listed the great clichés about Ireland: ‘Leprechauns, shamrock, Guinness, horses running through council estates, toothless simpletons, people with eyebrows on their cheeks… men in p

      15 min read

    • Article

      Double Trouble In Chaotic Comedy

      Nov 25, 2021

      THE ARRIVAL OF THE Christmas season is a reminder that while the West End is the beating heart of British theatre, it is in what used to be called the “provinces” — now more delicately in arts-speak the “regions” — that most of the country experience

      3 min read

    • Article

      Readers’ Letters

      Sep 21, 2022

      Readers’ Letters
      6 min read

    • Article

      Readers’ Letters

      Jan 12, 2022

      The Oldie, 23-31 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PA letters@theoldie.co.uk To sign up for our e-newsletter, go to www.theoldie.co.uk SIR: I read with interest about Sister Teresa’s love of the Taddei Tondo (January issue) and remembered that I

      5 min read

    • Article

      The new Hamlet

      Apr 6, 2022

      ‘NOW, I have yet to see a Hamlet who can give both sides of the character. Laurence Irving was magnificently sinister, but lacked the sweetness. Barrymore was all Hyde and no Jekyll, and the exact opposite must be said of Forbes-Robertson, who was al

      1 min read

    • Article

      Readers’ Letters

      May 4, 2022

      SIR: I write in respect of the article ‘Gentleman’s Relish’ by Mark Palmer (Spring issue). I too was brought up in Reading in the 1950s, though not, as I suspect in Mr Palmer’s case, as a scion of the excellent company that manufactured biscuits righ

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Show Must Go On

      Nov 17, 2021

      Am I Jewish? That is how we all felt in the audience last night at Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece, Leopoldstadt, at Wyndham’s Theatre. As you probably know, the play is about a Jewish family in Vienna from 1900 to 1955. It is also about Tom Stoppard’s di

      4 min read

    • Article

      When Lizzie met Maggie

      Dec 13, 2023

      The Grim Reaper has been having a high old time of late. I've barely had a moment to keep up with my diary, I have been so busy writing letters of condolence, attending funerals and giving addresses at memorial services. I was especially saddened by

      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Sep 28, 2022

      I read with interest your article (News, 24 August) about the increasing numbers of Scottish rivers moving to a catch-and-release policy. While this is to be applauded, it is not the answer. I have been fortunate to have fished the Royal Dee for 15 y

      4 min read

    • Article

      I REMEMBER… Barry Humphries

      Mar 15, 2022

      I REMEMBER… Barry Humphries
      5 min read

    • Article

      Bicycle Oils

      Jul 6, 2023

      Bicycle Oils
      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Dec 28, 2022

      I was intrigued by the short story in the November issue's Anniversaries section regarding the peaceful transfer of power from Henry III to his son Edward I –the first such occasion in English history. I wanted to know more about why this particular

      4 min read

    • Article

      On My Radar: Ian McKellen’s Cultural Highlights

      Jul 23, 2022

      The actor Ian McKellen was born in Burnley, Lancashire in 1939. Since the 1970s he has performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre. He has received seven Laurence Olivier awards, a Tony, a Golden Globe and a Scr

      4 min read

    • Article

      For The Love Of Panto

      Dec 17, 2021

      For The Love Of Panto
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un's Notes

      Oct 18, 2023

      The Old Un's Notes
      4 min read

    • Article

      Good Books Make Good Fuel

      Sep 21, 2022

      Is it time to burn my books? My wife has already told me she is getting rid of the lot the moment I go. So, given the cost-of-living crisis and the rocketing price of fuel, is this the year for me to clear the grate and set a match to all my treasure

      3 min read

    • Article

      Victoria's Secrets

      Apr 3, 2024

      Victoria's Secrets
      4 min read

    • Article

      City Of A Scandal

      Jan 4, 2023

      City Of A Scandal
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Modest Man

      Oct 17, 2019

      The Modest Man
      5 min read

    • Article

      Step Bach In Time

      Jul 21, 2021

      Step Bach In Time
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un’s Notes

      Sep 22, 2021

      The Old Un’s Notes
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Play’s The Thing

      Apr 15, 2021

      Entertainment in late medieval and Tudor London came in a variety of forms, including cockfighting, bearbaiting and even public executions. Plays at this time often had a religious theme or a moral at the end – such as the battle between good and evi

      5 min read

    • Article

      Jan Morris

      Jun 15, 2018

      I have always rather envied the poet Ovid, who was banished from Rome by the emperor Augustus, you may remember, to a remote place called Tomis on the shores of the Black Sea. There he died, ten years later, and his exile has gone into legend and int

      17 min read

    • Article

      Readers’ Letters

      Aug 25, 2021

      Readers’ Letters
      4 min read

    • Article

      ENGLISH HOMES OLD & NEW

      Apr 6, 2022

      ENGLISH HOMES OLD & NEW
      7 min read

    • Article

      Town & Country Notebook

      Feb 1, 2023

      1) Which of Britain’s commonly found native snakes is the longest? 2) Which British composer put to music The Song of Hiawatha? 3) Who won the 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury? 4) Who wrote Moll Flanders? 5) What’s the common name of the rare bird Tetrao ur

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Such Things Are

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Such Things Are - Mrs Inchbald

      Such Things Are by Mrs Inchbald

      A PLAY, IN FIVE ACTS

      AS PERFORMED AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT GARDEN

      Elizabeth Simpson was born on 15th October 1753 at Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 

      Despite the fact that she suffered from a debilitating stammer she was determined to become an actress.

      In April 1772, Elizabeth left, without permission, for London to pursue her chosen career.  Although she was successful in obtaining parts her audiences, at first, found it difficult to admire her talents given her speech impediment.  However, Elizabeth was diligent and hard-working on attempting to overcome this hurdle. She spent much time concentrating on pronunciation in order to eliminate the stammer. Her acting, although at times stilted, especially in monologues, gained praise for her approach for her well-developed characters.

      That same year she married Joseph Inchbald and a few months later they appeared for the first time together on stage in ‘King Lear’.  The following month they toured Scotland with the West Digges's theatre company.  This was to continue for several years.

      Completely unexpectedly Joseph died in June 1779.  It was now in the years after her husband’s death that Elizabeth decided on a new literary path.  With no attachments and acting taking up only some of her time she decided to write plays.

      Her first play to be performed was ‘A Mogul Tale or, The Descent of the Balloon’, in 1784, in which she also played the leading female role of Selina. The play was premiered at the Haymarket Theatre.

      One of the things that separated Elizabeth from other contemporary playwrights was her ability to translate plays from German and French into English for an audience that was ever-hungry for new works.

      Her success as a playwright enabled Elizabeth to support herself and have no need of a husband to support her.  Between 1784 and 1805 she had 19 of her comedies, sentimental dramas, and farces (many of them translations from the French) performed at London theatres. She is usually credited as Mrs Inchbald.

      Mrs Elizabeth Inchbald died on 1st August 1821 in Kensington, London. 

      Index of Contents

      ADVERTISEMENT

      DRAMATIS PERSONAE

      TIME OF REPRESENTATION: Twelve Hours.

      SUCH THINGS ARE

      PROLOGUE

      ACT I

      SCENE I - A Parlour at Sir Luke Tremor's

      ACT II

      SCENE I - An Apartment at Sir Luke Tremor's

      SCENE II - The Inside of a Prison

      SCENE III - Another Part of the Prison

      SCENE IV - The Former Prison Scene

      ACT III

      SCENE I - An Apartment at Sir Luke Tremor's

      SCENE II - The Palace

      ACT IV

      SCENE I - An Apartment at Sir Luke's

      SCENE II - The Garden

      ACT V

      SCENE I - The Prison

      SCENE II - The First Prison Scene

      SCENE III - The Council Chamber

      SCENE IV - An Arch-way at the Top of the Stage

      EPILOGUE

      MRS INCHBALD – A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

      MRS INCHBALD – A CONCISE BIBLIOGRAPHY

      ADVERTISEMENT

      The travels of an Englishman throughout Europe, and even in some parts of Asia, to soften the sorrows of the Prisoner, excited in the mind of the Author the subject of the following pages, which, formed into a dramatic story, have produced from the Theatre a profit far exceeding the usual pecuniary advantages arising from a successful Comedy.

      The uncertainty in what part of the East the hero of the present piece was (at the time it was written) dispensing his benevolence, caused the Writer, after many researches and objections, to fix the scene on the island of Sumatra, where the English settlement, the system of government, and every description of the manners of the people, reconcile the incidents of the Play to the strictest degree of probability.

      DRAMATIS PERSONAE

      MEN

      Sultan    Mr. Farren

      Lord Flint   Mr. Davies

      Sir Luke Tremor  Mr. Quick

      Mr. Twineall   Mr. Lewis

      Mr. Haswell   Mr. Pope

      Elvirus    Mr. Holman

      Mr. Meanright   Mr. Macready

      Zedan    Mr. Fearon

      First Keeper   Mr. Thompson

      Second Keeper   Mr. Cubitt

      First Prisoner   Mr. Helme

      Second Prisoner  Mr. Gardener

      Guard    Mr. Blurton

      Messenger   Mr. Ledger

      WOMEN

      Lady Tremor   Mrs. Mattocks

      Aurelia    Miss Wilkinson

      Female Prisoner Mrs. Pope

      TIME OF REPRESENTATION: Twelve Hours.

      SUCH THINGS ARE

      PROLOGUE

      Written by THOMAS VAUGHAN, Esq.

      Spoken by Mr. HOLMAN.

      How say you, critic Gods*, and you below**;

      Are you all friends?—or here—and there—a foe?

      Come to protect your literary trade,

      Which Mrs. Scribble dares again invade—

      But know you not—in all the fair ones do,

      'Tis not to please themselves alone—but you.

      Then who so churlish, or so cynic grown,

      Would wish to change a simper for a frown?

      Or who so jealous of their own dear quill,

      Would point the paragraph her fame to kill?

      Yet such there are, in this all-scribbling town,

      And men of letters too—of some renown,

      Who sicken at all merit but their own.

      But sure 'twere more for Wit's—for Honour's sake,

      To make the Drama's race—the give and take.

      [Looking round the house.

      My hint I see's approv'd—so pray begin it,

      And praise us—roundly for the good things in it,

      Nor let severity our faults expose,

      When godlike Homer's self was known to doze.

      But of the piece—Methinks I hear you hint,

      Some dozen lines or more should give the tint—

      "Tell how Sir John with Lady Betty's maid

      Is caught intriguing at a masquerade;

      Which Lady Betty, in a jealous fit,

      Resents by flirting with Sir Ben—the cit.

      Whose three-feet spouse, to modish follies bent,

      Mistakes a six-feet Valet—for a Gent.

      Whilst Miss, repugnant to her Guardian's plan,

      Elopes in Breeches with her fav'rite man."

      Such are the hints we read in Roscius' days,

      By way of Prologue ushered in their plays.

      But we, like Ministers and cautious spies,

      In secret measures think—the merit lies.

      Yet shall the Muse thus far unveil the plot—

      This play was tragi-comically got,

      Those sympathetic sorrows to impart

      Which harmonize the feelings of the heart;

      And may at least this humble merit boast,

      A structure founded on fair Fancy's coast.

      With you it rests that judgement to proclaim,

      Which in the world must raise or sink it's fame.

      Yet ere her judges sign their last report,

      'Tis you—

      [To the boxes.

      —must recommend her to the Court;

      Whose smiles, like Cynthia, in a winter's night,

      Will cheer our wand'rer with a gleam of

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1