The Corpse Played Dead

by The Corpse Played Dead (retail) (epub)

  Susannah Cibber and Frances (Fanny) Barton were real actresses. In 1759, when this novel is set, Fanny Barton married James Abington, a music teacher. The marriage was not a happy one, and they parted, but she retained his name. Susannah Cibber – also unhappily married – was a singer as well as an actress.

  The Theatre Royal at Drury Lane opened in 1674. It suffered several fires and was rebuilt between 1791 and 1794. Audience riots were not uncommon and audience members did not behave as politely as they do these days. Shouting, singing and throwing food were part of the evening’s entertainment.

  If you would like to read more about the history behind this novel, here is a section of the books I have found helpful:

  Beattie, J. M., The First English Detectives. The Bow Street Runners and the Policing of London, 1750—1840.

  Benedetti, Jean, David Garrick and the Birth of Modern Theatre.

  Brewer, John, The Pleasures of the Imagination. English Culture in the Eighteenth Century

  Brockett, Oscar, History of the Theatre.

  Buck, Anne, Dress in Eighteenth Century England.

  Cruickshank, Dan, The Secret History of Georgian London.

  Cunningham, V., Shakespeare and Garrick.

  Gatrell, Vic, The First Bohemians.

  McIntyre, Ian, Garrick.

  Parsons, Florence, Garrick and his Circle.

  Picard, Liza, Dr Johnson’s London. Life in London 1740—1770.

  Porter, Roy, English Society in the 18th Century.

  Pringle, Patrick, Hue and Cry. The Birth of the British Police.

  Rubenhold, Hallie, The Covent Garden Ladies. The Extraordinary Story of Harris’s List.

  White, Jerry, London in the Eighteenth Century. A Great and Monstrous Thing.

  Williams, Clifford, Theatres and Audiences. A Background to Dramatic Texts.

  Acknowledgements

  I owe a continuing debt of gratitude to my agent, Laura Macdougall (at United Agents). I am extremely lucky to have someone so hard-working, cheerful, patient and enthusiastic rooting for me.

  Thank you, once again, to the team at Canelo for their expertise and encouragement.

  Thank you to all the writers I’ve met since embarking on this series. I have gained a brilliant collection of new friends, which has been the most wonderful by-product in the otherwise rather isolated world of novel writing.

  Thank you to my ‘old’ mates too, especially those of you who have only now discovered my secret life and embraced it with joy, laughter and pledges to buy all of my books. I love you. I will make sure that you buy the books but promise not to talk about them all of the time.

  Thank you to Tim, my husband, who talks to me even when my eyes have glazed over and he knows my mind has wandered in another century, and who bought me an eighteenth-century snuff box (and some snuff) to help me wander along.

  Finally, my son Sebastian, the performer to whom this book is dedicated. He is still far too young to engage with the vocabulary or the subject matter. His need to entertain started at his christening when, aged only three months, he lifted his head up high and spent the service smiling and cooing at the congregation. I suspect I will spend many hours watching him performing in the coming years. I am looking forward to this enormously.

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by Canelo

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  57 Shepherds Lane

  Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © Georgina Clarke, 2019

  The moral right of Georgina Clarke to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781788634540

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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