The Maiden Queen
Encyclopedia
Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen is a 1667
tragicomedy
written by John Dryden
. The play, commonly known by its more distinctive subtitle, was acted by the King's Company
at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
(which had escaped the Great Fire of London
the year before). The premiere occurred on 2 March, and was a popular success. King Charles II
, his brother the Duke of York and future King James II
, and Samuel Pepys
were all in the audience on opening night.
The Maiden Queen was noteworthy as a vehicle for Nell Gwyn
, who played the heroine Florimel. Pepys raved about her performance in his Diary — "so great performance of a comical part was never, I believe, in the world before...." He returned to see the play eight more times. It was also a special favorite of the King, who reportedly called it "his play."
In addition to Nell Gwyn, the original cast included Nicholas Burt
as Lysimantes, Michael Mohun
as Philocles, and Charles Hart
as Celadon; Anne Marshall
as Candiope and her sister Rebecca Marshall
as the Queen, Mary Knep
as Asteria, and Katherine Corey
as Melissa. A later production in 1672
was cast entirely by women. Thomas Killigrew
, manager of the King's Company, had developed this practice of all-female casts, starting with a 1664 staging of his own play The Parson's Wedding
, as a way to capitalize of the Restoration innovation of actresses on the English stage.
The Maiden Queen was first published in 1668
by Henry Herringman
. Another edition followed in 1698
.
Dryden composed his play in a mixture of rhymed verse, blank verse, and prose. Gerard Langbaine
noted in the 1690s that Dryden drew plot materials from two prose fictions by Madeleine de Scudéry
, Le Grand Cyrus (for the main plot) and Ibrahim, ou l'Illustre Bassa (for the subplot). (Dryden returned to Scudéry's Ibrahim for inspiration for another play, An Evening's Love
, the following year, 1668 — though that venture proved much less successful.) Dryden also borrowed material from Shirley's
Love in a Maze
. By Dryden's own testimony, the unheroic Philocles was inspired by Magnus de la Garide, the royal favorite of Queen Christina of Sweden
.
The drama was revived in an adapted form in 1707
; Colley Cibber
mixed it with materials from Marriage A-la-Mode
. The play remained in the repertory throughout the eighteenth century in various forms; a shortened version called Celadon and Florimel was acted as late as 1796. A London revival of The Maiden Queen occurred in 1886.
1667 in literature
-Events:* The Roman Catholic Church places the works of René Descartes on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.* Molière's play, Tartuffe, is banned.* Edmund Castell is imprisoned for debt....
tragicomedy
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
written by John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
. The play, commonly known by its more distinctive subtitle, was acted by the King's Company
King's Company
The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682.-History:...
at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
(which had escaped the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
the year before). The premiere occurred on 2 March, and was a popular success. King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, his brother the Duke of York and future King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, and Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
were all in the audience on opening night.
The Maiden Queen was noteworthy as a vehicle for Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwyn
Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of...
, who played the heroine Florimel. Pepys raved about her performance in his Diary — "so great performance of a comical part was never, I believe, in the world before...." He returned to see the play eight more times. It was also a special favorite of the King, who reportedly called it "his play."
In addition to Nell Gwyn, the original cast included Nicholas Burt
Nicholas Burt
Nicholas Burt , or Birt or Burght among other variants, was a prominent English actor of the seventeenth century. In a long career, he was perhaps best known as the first actor to play the role of Othello in the Restoration era.A "Nicholas Bert" was christened on 27 May 1621, in Norwich; the record...
as Lysimantes, Michael Mohun
Michael Mohun
Michael Mohun was a leading British actor both before and after the 1642—60 closing of the theatres.Mohun began his stage career as a boy player filling female roles; he was part of Christopher Beeston's theatrical establishment at the Cockpit Theatre, "eventually becoming a key member of Queen...
as Philocles, and Charles Hart
Charles Hart (17th-century actor)
Charles Hart was a prominent British Restoration actor.A Charles Hart was christened on 11 December 1625, in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London. It is not absolutely certain that this was the actor, though the name was not common at the time...
as Celadon; Anne Marshall
Anne Marshall
Anne Marshall , also Mrs. Anne Quin, was a leading English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers to appear on the public stage in England....
as Candiope and her sister Rebecca Marshall
Rebecca Marshall
Rebecca Marshall was a noted English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of women performers on the public stage in Britain...
as the Queen, Mary Knep
Mary Knep
Mary Knep , also Knepp, Nepp, Knip, or Knipp, was an English actress, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage during the Restoration era....
as Asteria, and Katherine Corey
Katherine Corey
Katherine Corey was an English actress of the Restoration era, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage in Britain. Corey played with the King's Company and the United Company, and had one of the longest careers of any actress in her generation...
as Melissa. A later production in 1672
1672 in literature
The year 1672 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* In London, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is destroyed by fire. The King's Company moves into the theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields, which their rivals the Duke's Company left the previous year.* During the 1672–73 theatre...
was cast entirely by women. Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew
Thomas Killigrew was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England.-Life and work:...
, manager of the King's Company, had developed this practice of all-female casts, starting with a 1664 staging of his own play The Parson's Wedding
The Parson's Wedding
The Parson's Wedding is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Thomas Killigrew. Often regarded as the author's best play, the drama has sometimes been considered an anticipation of Restoration comedy, written a generation before the Restoration; "its general tone foreshadows the comedy of...
, as a way to capitalize of the Restoration innovation of actresses on the English stage.
The Maiden Queen was first published in 1668
1668 in literature
The year 1668 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:*Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler goes into its fourth edition.*John Dryden signs a contract to produce three plays a year for the King’s Company.-New books:...
by Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman
Henry Herringman was a prominent London bookseller and publisher in the second half of the 17th century. He is especially noted for his publications in English Renaissance drama and English Restoration drama; he was the first publisher of the works of John Dryden...
. Another edition followed in 1698
1698 in literature
The year 1698 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge is formed.* The latest edition of the Bay Psalm Book is the first to include music....
.
Dryden composed his play in a mixture of rhymed verse, blank verse, and prose. Gerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine
Gerard Langbaine was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his An Account of the English Dramatic Poets , the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrights of English Renaissance theatre...
noted in the 1690s that Dryden drew plot materials from two prose fictions by Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry
Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...
, Le Grand Cyrus (for the main plot) and Ibrahim, ou l'Illustre Bassa (for the subplot). (Dryden returned to Scudéry's Ibrahim for inspiration for another play, An Evening's Love
An Evening's Love
An Evening's Love, or The Mock Astrologer is a comedy in prose by John Dryden. It was first performed before Charles II and Queen Catherine by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal on Bridges Street, London, on Friday, 12 June 1668...
, the following year, 1668 — though that venture proved much less successful.) Dryden also borrowed material from Shirley's
James Shirley
James Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
Love in a Maze
Love in a Maze
The Changes, or Love in a Maze is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy of manners written by James Shirley, first published in 1639. It was one of Shirley's most popular comedies, especially in the Restoration era...
. By Dryden's own testimony, the unheroic Philocles was inspired by Magnus de la Garide, the royal favorite of Queen Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
.
The drama was revived in an adapted form in 1707
1707 in literature
The year 1707 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Thanks to the efforts of Daniel Defoe, John Arbuthnot, and Anne's ministry, the Act of Union between England and Scotland takes place....
; Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
mixed it with materials from Marriage A-la-Mode
Marriage A-la-Mode
Marriage à la Mode is a Restoration comedy by John Dryden, first performed in London in 1673 by the King's Company. It is written in a combination of prose, blank verse and heroic couplets...
. The play remained in the repertory throughout the eighteenth century in various forms; a shortened version called Celadon and Florimel was acted as late as 1796. A London revival of The Maiden Queen occurred in 1886.