Thomas Otway, The Souldiers Fortune

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First Performance and Publication

Otway’s The Souldiers Fortune was first performed by the Duke of York’s Theatre in the spring of 1680, and published in 1681 by Richard Bentley, the Covent Garden stationer and bookseller who printed three of Otway’s plays, including The Orphan (1680) and the sequel to The Souldiers Fortune, The Atheist (1683). The comedy was highly successful. John Downes recalled in 1708 that The Souldiers Fortune “took extraordinary well, and being perfectly Acted, got the Company great Reputation and Profit” (Ghosh, 1:53), so much so that Otway was encouraged to write “The Second Part of the Soldiers Fortune” for the United Company three years later. King Charles attended several performances between 1680 and 1682, conferring his royal approval of the

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Citation: Brady, Jennifer. "The Souldiers Fortune". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 August 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34672, accessed 19 March 2024.]

34672 The Souldiers Fortune 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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