BritishandAmericanPlaywrights:PlaysbyDionBoucicault

Fiveplaysbythisvirtuosoofthetheatrehavebeengatheredinonevolumeandgivenscholarlyattention.DionBoucicault,themostpopulardramatistofthesecondhalfofthenineteenthcentury,wasalsooneofthemostprolificandrepresentative.Irishinorigin,heworkedandwroteinEnglandandAmericawherefortwentyyearsheledthetouringcircuit.Hisplaysreflectthedifferenttheatricaltraditions,Irish,EnglishandAmerican,inwhichhewasacrucialfigure.Twoplaysarepublishedhereforthefirsttimethiscentury,UsedUpandJessieBrown.TheShaughraunandTheOctoroonareoutstandingexamplesofmelodrama;OldHeadsandYoungHeartsisoneofthefewnotablenineteenth-centurycomedies.PeterThomson'sintroductionassessesBoucicault'splaceinthenineteenthcenturyinbothEnglandandAmerica,andshowsthathisworkcannotbeignoredbyanyseriousstudentofdrama.