Writing the History of the British Stage
1660–1900

A study of British theatre historiography, from its origins in the Restoration to its development as an academic discipline in the twentieth century.

Richard Schoch (Author)

9781107166929, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 September 2016

404 pages, 28 b/w illus.
23.5 x 16.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.79 kg

This is the first book on British theatre historiography. It traces the practice of theatre history from its origins in the Restoration to its emergence as an academic discipline in the early twentieth century. In this compelling revisionist study, Richard Schoch reclaims the deep history of British theatre history, valorizing the usually overlooked scholarship undertaken by antiquarians, booksellers, bibliographers, journalists and theatrical insiders, none of whom considered themselves to be professional historians. Drawing together deep archival research, close readings of historical texts from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and an awareness of contemporary debates about disciplinary practice, Schoch overturns received interpretations of British theatre historiography and shows that the practice - and the diverse practitioners - of theatre history were far more complicated and far more sophisticated than we had realised. His book is a landmark contribution to how theatre historians today can understand their own history.

List of illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prelude. Early modern historiography
1. Restoration booksellers as theatre historians
2. Trivial discourses and persons not worth remembering
3. Gerard Langbaine and his progeny
4. John Downes and what the prompter saw
5. The biography of Biographia Dramatica
Interlude. The rise of narrative historiography
6. The design of Theatrum Anglicanum
7. Histories of my own time
8. Edmond Malone and the search for theatrical intelligence
9. The anxieties of John Payne Collier
Postlude. The art and science of nineteenth-century historiography
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: History: specific events & topics [HBT], Theatre direction & production [ANF], Acting techniques [ANC], Theatre: individual actors & directors [ANB], Theatre studies [AN], Art techniques & principles [AGZ], Art treatments & subjects [AG], Art forms [AF], History of art / art & design styles [AC], The arts: general issues [AB]