Mitford, Mary Russell, Drama

One of the most prolific and versatile women writers of the Romantic era, Mary Russell Mitford (1787–1855) produced poetry, drama, and prose fiction over a long literary career from the 1810s to the 1840s. As a dramatist, she successfully staged four historical tragedies between 1823 and 1834 at Covent Garden, Drury Lane, and the Royal Victoria theatres, as well as an opera at the English Opera House in 1835. Mitford earned a respected reputation as a tragedian by 1830 with repeatedly successful stage productions: Julian ran for eight performances in 1823, Foseari ran for 15 performances in 1826, and Rienzi, her greatest success, ran for a remarkable 34 performances in 1828. Her efforts to stage a tragedy on Charles I and Oliver Cromwell met with rejection from the Lord Chamberlain in 1825 as too dangerous to produce, and would not be performed until a decade later at the Royal Victoria. While historical tragedies defined her success in stage production, she also published numerous short dramatic sketches in literary journals and annual anthologies of the 1820s and 1830s.