The events related to the fire that devastated the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on September 20, 1808, occurred as written in the novel and claimed the lives of twenty-two people, including several firemen. Was the fire that burned the Theatre Royal to the ground started by unextinguished pistol wadding? No one really knows, but it is a popular theory. We do know for sure that Thomas Renfrew did not hand the smoking pistol to Grace and that she did not throw the pistol onto a pile of scripts.
Mr. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) was the owner of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, where both Mrs. Siddons and Mr. Kemble acted before moving to the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. Sheridan was also a renowned parliamentarian and a famous playwright. The School for Scandal and The Rivals are considered his best works, although he also adapted the version of Pizarro, an extremely popular play of the period, that is described in the novel.
The King’s Theatre at the Haymarket featured Mr. Kemble and Mrs. Siddons in a production of Douglas shortly after the fire destroyed the Theatre Royal at Covent Garden. The pompous speech delivered by Mr. Kemble in the novel is reproduced exactly as reported in the press at the time.
The Duke of Northumberland forgave a loan of £10,000 to build the New Theatre because of his gratitude to Mr. Kemble for teaching the duke’s son elocution. The letter forgiving the loan is reproduced verbatim in the novel.
The stone-laying ceremony for the New Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, on December 31, 1808, occurred almost exactly as described. Both Mr. Kemble and Mrs. Siddons stood next to the Prince of Wales (later King George IV), and both refused to hold umbrellas.
Astley’s Amphitheatre across the Thames in Lambeth presented its productions in the summer months. I’ve take a historical liberty by setting the scene with Olympia in the late winter and having an elephant make a cameo appearance. Elephants and other wild animals, particularly lions and tigers, were not featured at Astley’s until after 1825, when Astley’s was acquired by a new owner.
The Theatre Royal at Drury Lane did indeed burn down in February of 1809, leaving London without its two patent theaters until the New Theatre Royal at Covent Garden opened in September.
The riots began as described in the novel on Monday, September 18, 1809, with a production of Macbeth starring John Philip Kemble and his sister Mrs. Sarah Siddons. All the events related to the riots—the reading of the Riot Act; the committee struck to investigate the theater’s finances; the OP placards, dances, and medals; and the productions mentioned in the novel—are real.
Angelica Catalani (1780–1849) was one of the most celebrated sopranos of the time, particularly famous for her three-octave range. Her exorbitantly high fees (she was known to receive 200 guineas for singing “God Save the King” and “Rule Britannia”) and her Italian origins attracted the ire of the Old Price rioters, who booed her with cries of Cat and Nasty Pussy.
Mr. George Frederick Cooke (1756–1812) was one of the principal actors at the Theatre Royal. He is famous both for his legendary binge drinking and for initiating the romantic style in acting later made famous by Edmund Kean. The role of Richard III was one of his most famous.
Mr. Kemble hired professional pugilists Dutch Sam and Dan Mendoza to battle the rioters in early October 1809. The OP rioters particularly objected to Kemble hiring the boxers and would not stop the riots until Kemble apologized.
Mr. Harrison mentions being booed when he played Hamlet in place of Mr. Garrick in the 1770’s. While this event is fictional, theater riots occurred at both Drury Lane and Covent Garden throughout the eighteenth century for a variety of reasons, including ticket price increases, one actor taking roles associated with another actor, and disapproval of a particular playwright or play.
Mr. Brandon, the box office keeper, was charged with assaulting and falsely arresting Mr. Henry Clifford, a lawyer and one of the leaders of the OP riots.
Mr. Clifford and his cronies dined with Mr. Kemble at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in Covent Garden on December 14, 1809, and the terms of the peace were established.
The riots ended on Friday, December 15, 1809, when Mr. Kemble finally apologized for hiring the boxers, and the We are satisfied banner was hoisted from the pit.
Acknowledgments
I am extremely fortunate to have many wonderful people who have helped me bring The Muse of Fire into the world. Mary Vingoe, Ruby Cram, Alison Bate, Tom McKeown, Mariana Holbrook, Katharine Vingoe-Cram, Julia Simpson, Maggie Bolitho, Lisa Voisin, Lynn Crymble, and Jacqueline Reiter read various drafts and sections of the novel and provided invaluable advice. Stephanie Williams, my friend forever and an amazing proofreader, was a tremendous help during the final editing of the novel. Marc Baer, professor emeritus at Hope College and the author of the marvelous Theatre and Disorder in Late Georgian London, patiently answered my questions about the OP Riots and read both an early and a later draft of the novel. Terry Robinson, assistant professor of English and Drama at the University of Toronto (my old alma mater!), kindly read the novel and corrected historical errors. Anthony Vickery, assistant teaching professor in the Theatre Department at the University of Victoria, provided me with insights about early-nineteenth-century stagecraft. I am also indebted to the encouragement of the late Professor Lise-Lone Marker at the University of Toronto, who many years ago made me believe I had a knack for writing. If any errors still remain, they are 100 percent my fault.
I particularly wish to thank both Jodi Warshaw and Danielle Marshall at Lake Union Publishing for their enthusiastic support; Jessica Murphy, my wonderful developmental editor, who helped me whip The Muse of Fire into shape; Mariette Franken at Kindle Press for shepherding the novel through the publication process; and Paul D. Zablocki for his insightful and much-appreciated copy edit. I’m also very grateful for the hard work and dedication of all the team at Lake Union Publishing and Kindle Press. And finally, as always, I owe everything to my wonderful family—my beautiful daughter, Julia Simpson; my remarkable mom, Ruby Cram; and my partner of over thirty years and my daily support and love, Gregg Simpson.
Selected Bibliography
All quotations from Shakespeare’s plays are taken from The Alexander Text of William Shakespeare: The Complete Works. London and Glasgow: Collins, 1975.
Following are some of the books I consulted while writing The Muse of Fire.
Ashton, John. The Dawn of the XIXth Century in England, A Social Sketch of the Times. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1886.
Baer, Marc. Theatre and Disorder in Late Georgian London. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.
Brooks, Helen M. Actresses, Gender, and the Eighteenth-Century Stage: Playing Women. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Davidge, William. Footlight Flashes. New York: American News. Co., 1866.
Dibdin, Thomas. The Reminiscences of Thomas Dibdin. London: Henry Colburn, 1827.
Fyvie, John. Tragedy Queens of the Georgian Era. London: Methuen & Co., 1908.
Hartnoll, Phyllis. The Theatre: A Concise History, 4th ed., World of Art. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012.
Johnson, Claudia D., and Johnson, Vernon E., comp. Nineteenth-Century Theatrical Memoirs. London: Greenwood Press, 1982.
Moody, Jane. Illegitimate Theatre in London, 1770–1840. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Ranger, Paul. “Terror and Pity Reign in Every Breast”: Gothic Drama in the London Patent Theatres, 1750–1820. London: The Society of Theatre Research, 1991.
Richards, Kenneth and Thomson, Peter, eds. Essays on the Eighteenth-Century English Stage. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1972.
Robinson, Terry F. “National Theatre in Transition: The London Patent Theatre Fires of 1808–1809 and the Old Price Riots.” BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Edited by Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. August 29, 2017.
Stockdale, John Joseph. The Covent Garden Journal. London: Stockdale, 1810.
White, R. J. Life in Regency England. London: B. T. Batsford
Ltd., 1963.
Book Club Questions
What is the nature of Grace’s journey to becoming an actress? Consider the choices she makes in the novel. How does she grow and change?
What motivates Ned—is he a nice guy, or does he have his own demons to battle? How does he grow and change? Why does he want to stay away from women until finally he falls in love with Olympia?
Is Percival a sympathetic character? Why or why not?
Why has Tobias Johnson never been a good father to Grace? Tobias has a negative influence on Grace, but what is his point of view?
Why is Grace prepared to give up everything for the theater? Or is she?
What role does Olympia play in Grace’s growth as a woman and an actress?
Why does Olympia suddenly agree to marry Ned?
Mr. Kemble was a real person. Why do you think he refused to accede to the demands of the OP rioters for so long, and then finally capitulated?
What does the novel show about the position of actresses in the early nineteenth century?
What does the novel suggest about the value and function of the theater in a society?
What is the theme of The Muse of Fire?
Hundreds of women found fame on the stage in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Several of the most famous names are mentioned in the novel. Research the stories of Sarah Siddons, Dora Jordan, and Peg Woffington to identify their influences on the development of British theater and to determine the challenges they faced in seeking a career on the stage.
Several actors are also mentioned in the novel, including John Philip Kemble, Frederick Cooke, David Garrick, and Charles Kemble. Research their stories—why were they famous? What innovations did they bring to the theater?
Isaac Cruikshank, a well-known political cartoonist in the early nineteenth century, created a wonderful series of cartoons about the Old Price Riots. Do a search for Cruikshank’s cartoons and enjoy viewing the riots through his sardonic eye.
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