If we consider Lacy’s Acting Edition as a microcosm of Victorian theatre (albeit with some biases), the authors of its nearly 1500 titles seem to be worth investigating a little. Who wrote the plays that Lacy felt confident he could sell? What sort of people were they? Where did they spring from? John Russell Stephens’ definitive historical survey The profession of the playwright (CUP 1992) tells the story at a macro level, backed up by all manner of bibliographical and biographical pointers which I have plundered shamelessly to build up my own micro-level survey of Lacy’s people. To begin with something basic : how many of these authors were there? How much did each one write? And, critically, are they known to other biographical sources?
By my reckoning, the LAE cites 333 identifiable authors, excluding obvious spooks such as “John Doe”, or the moderately prolific “Anon”, but including co-authors, translators, and adapters if they are credited on a title page. Pseudonymous authors are counted only once, usually under their real name, where this is known. Of these 333, nearly all (296) now have a VIAF identifier, which seems like a fairly reliable authority file for this kind of material. By reliable, I mean that (so far as I have been able to check) the VIAF heading cites someone with the same name, either as author of a work with the same title, or with birth and death dates which seem plausible taking into account the date of its first performance.
For nearly half of these authors (188), I have tracked down some sort of online biography, mostly in Wikipedia, which of course links to other sources as well. Other sources (notably Boase and the original DNB) have yet to be pillaged systematically, but it seems unlikely that they will add many more names to those already found in Wikipedia. I have however added links to 52 of the brief biographical notes by Edward Ledger originally published in the Era Almanac: these provide a contemporaneous rather than retrospective view of their subject. Putting all this together has enabled me to add dates to 226 entries, rather more than two-thirds of the authors.
There remain, of course, unresolved mysteries. For about 30 authors, I still know nothing beyond the titles and first performance information given in the Lacy Catalogue. Here’s a summary list in the forlorn hope that someone else might be able to make a suggestion…W0012: | Arbuthnot, Captain | ARBUTHNOT, Captain
L1005 : L'Africaine; or, The Belle of Madagascar (Covent Garden 21 Oct 1865)
W0079: | Danvers, H. | DANVERS, HENRY
L0392 : A Conjugal Lesson (Royal Olympic Theatre3 July 1856. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_52960_A))
L0394 : A Fascinating Individual; or, Too Agreeable by Half (Royal Olympic Theatre 9 June 1856. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_52959_F))
W0092: | Edwards, Pierrepont | EDWARDS, PIERPONT
L1195 : Honour Before Wealth; or, The Romance of a Poor Young Man (Wallack's Theatre, New York)
W0094: | Ellis, George | ELLIS, GEORGE
L0123 : Harlequin, Cherry and Fair Star; or, The Green Bird, the Dancing Waters, and the Singing Tree! (Royal Princess's Theatre 27 Dec. 1852)
W0108: | Gilbert, H.P. | GILBERT, H. P.
L1037 : The Court of Lions; or, Granada Taken and Done For (Unknown n.d.)
W0112: | Gott, Henry | GOTT, HENRY
L1224 : The Wizard of the Moor (Royal West London Theatre)
W0345: | Hale, William Palmer | HALE, WILLIAM PALMER
L0056 : Godiva; or, Ye Ladye of Coventrie and Ye Exyle fayrie (Strand Theatre7 July 1851)
W0123: | Hancock, William | HANCOCK, WILLIAM
L0794 : John Smith (Royal Strand Theatre13 Jan. 1862. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_53011_B))
L0912 : "Stolen - £20 Reward" (New Royalty Theatre26 Dec. 1863. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_53028_B))
L0913 : Margate Sands (Royal Strand Theatre 10 Jan. 1864)
L1152 : Mr Scroggins; or, Change of Name ()
W0124: | Hardwicke, Pelham | HARDWICKE, PELHAM
L0177 : A Bachelor of Arts (Royal Lyceum Theatre23 Nov. 1853. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_52944_B))
W0132: | Hermann, Charles | HERMANN, CHARLES
L0178 : Uncle Tom's Cabin (Theatre Royal Manchester 1 Feb. 1853)
W0146: | Irwin, Edward | IRWIN, EDWARD
L0442 : King O'Toole's Goose; or, The Legends of Glendalough (Queen's Royal Theatre, Dublin 24 March 1856)
W0147: | James, Walter | JAMES, WALTER
L1472 : A Return Ticket to the International Exhibition (Royal St. James's Theatre11 August 1862)
W0186: | Lynch, Thomas J. | LYNCH, T. J.
L0092 : The Rose of Ettrick Vale; or, The Bridal of the Borders (Adelphi 29 Oct 1829)
W0194: | March, George | MARCH, or MARSH, M. GEORGE
L1322 : Lost and Found (Royal Alexandra Theatre, Liverpool 27 June 1870)
L1327 : Who's the Heir? (Theatre Royal, Sunderland 14 Oct. 1870)
L1433 : The Shepherd of Cournouailles (St G. Liverpool 28 Apr 1879)
W0199: | Martin, William | MARTIN, WILLIAM
L1014 : Chang-Ching-Fou! Cream of Tartar; or, The Prince, The Princess, and The Mandarin (Luton 11 April 1864)
W0216: | Morton, Edward | MORTON, THOMAS, Jr.,
L0232 : The Eton Boy (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 29 Oct. 1842)
L1056 : The Windmill (Theatre Royal Drury Lane 25 Jan. 1842)
W0237: | Phelps,S. Jr | PHELPS, S., Jr.
L0136 : The Obstinate Family (Theatre Royal Sadler's Wells21 Feb. 1853. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_52938_A))
W0238: | Phillips, Frederick | PHILLIPS, FREDERIC LAURENCE
L0429 : A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush (Royal Surrey Theatre 19 Jan. 1857)
W0239: | Phillips, L. | PHILLIPS, L.
L0686 : Marianne, The Vivandiere; or, The Mystery of Twenty Years (Great National Standard Theatre 3 Feb. 1851)
W0263: | Rice, Charles | RICE, CHARLES
L0255 : The Three Musketeers; or, The Queen, the Cardinal, and the Adventurer (Manchester 2 Aug. 1850)
W0267: | Robertson, William
L0213 : Faust and Marguerite ()
W0274: | "Rowe, Nicholas" | ROWE, NICHOLAS
L1095 : The Orange Girl (Royal Surrey Theatre24 Oct. 1864)
W0286: | Smith, G. | SMITH, G.
L0877 : Make Your Wills (Theatre Royal, Haymarket1836. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_53022_AA))
W0294: | Spencer, George | SPENCER, GEORGE
L1472 : A Return Ticket to the International Exhibition (Royal St. James's Theatre11 August 1862)
W0305: | Thomas, J. | THOMAS G.
L0324 : The Young Widow (Royal Adelphi Theatre1 Nov. 1824)
W0319: | Walker, C.E. | WALKER, C. E.
L0678 : The Warlock of the Glen (Theatre Royal, Covent Garden 2 Dec. 1820)
W0325: | Welstead, Henry | WELSTEAD, HENRY
L0384 : Giralda; or, The Invisible Husband (Royal Olympic Theatre 12 Sept. 1850)
W0329: | Wilkins, John H. | WILKINS, JOHN H.
L0137 : Civilization (City of London Theatre10 Nov. 1852. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_52935_T))
L0174 : The Egyptian (City of London Theatre18 April 1853. Licenced for performance (BL ms LCP_52938_DD))
W0331: | Williams, Arthur | WILLIAMS, ARTHUR
L1435 : "Leave it to me" (Royal Surrey Theatre26 Dec. 1870)
W0341: | Young, A. | YOUNG, A.
L0309 : The First of May (Theatre Royal Sadler's Wells 26 Oct. 1849)
W0344: | Younge, A. | YOUNGE, A.
L0302 : A Village Tale (Theatre Royal Sadler's Wells 1 April 1850)
