Frances Brooke

In 1753 or early 1754, Frances Brooke's first play entitled Virginia, was rejected by David Garrick for production at Drury Lane. ¹ Certainly this was to be expected in some sense; who can hope to get their first script accepted and produced? But the rejection had some peculiar and interesting aspects. Two plays based on the same story by Livy were written and produced, one also called Virginia by Samuel Crisp at Drury Lane on 25 February 1754, ² about the time of Brooke's rejection, and the second by John Moncrieff, entitled Appius, at Covent Garden on 6 March 1755. ³ Brooke states in the preface to the published version of her play in 1756 that Garrick had received Crisp's and Moncrieff's before hers, and had refused to read hers until Crisp's was published. None of this seems to me particularly noteworthy; Garrick appears to have operated in this instance on a first-come, first-served basis, and to have been very careful about protecting himself and both playwrights from possible charges of plagiarism. What does interest me, however, is a letter he wrote on 28 September 1754, later in the same year that Drury Lane produced Crisp's play, and after Crisp's play was published. He wrote this time in reference to the second play on the same subject, John Moncrieff's, to an unnamed correspondent:

Dear Sir: I am engag'd already to more plays than I can possibly perform in the two next seasons—I have seen Mr. Moncrief [sic] since yr letter and told how my engagements stood, but have promised him all ye service in my power, provided he can get it acted at ye other house. When I see you I shall explain farther to you; in ye mean time be assur'd that yr recommendation will always have great weight with, dear sir,

yr most obedt servant, D. Garrick. ⁴