Henry Fielding, The Historical Register for the Year 1736

Thomas R. Cleary (University of British Columbia)
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This inventively comical and satiric play opened at “Little Theatre” in the Haymarket on 21 March 1737, under the looming threat of the tightening of censorial control of the stage under the provisions of the amendment to the Vagrant’s Act, commonly referred to as the Stage Licensing Act (introduced on 24 March and given Final Assent on 21 June 1737) that would soon close such non-patent theatres and effectively end Fielding’s prolific, satirically daring and profitable career as a writer for the stage. Though it had been announced a few days earlier that it would play with Fielding’s

Eurydice Hissed

as its afterpiece (an expectation only fulfilled on 13 April),

The Historical Register

opened and played to packed houses and much applause as a double bill with George Lillo’s…

1590 words

Citation: Cleary, Thomas R.. "The Historical Register for the Year 1736". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=610, accessed 19 March 2024.]

610 The Historical Register for the Year 1736 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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