Thomas Abthorpe Cooper: Father of the American Stage, 1775-1849

by F. Arant Maginnes

Overview

This is the biography of Thomas Abthorpe Cooper, the first star of the American stage. Cooper was the chief transitional figure between the British and American stage and contributed greatly to the development of American theatre. For the 30 years after 1797, Cooper performed in the major cities and toured to every state in the Union.

This work covers his entire life and career from his birth outside London in 1775, to his famed performance to celebrate the opening of the City of Washington in 1800, to his death in Bristol, Pennsylvania, in 1849. Much research is drawn from Mr. Cooper's letters to his mentor, English radical philosopher William Godwin. Throughout, there are descriptions of his principal portrayals at different stages drawn from contemporary accounts and theatrical reviews. There are also 22 illustrations, from paintings and engravings to playbills and photographs of the sites associated with the actor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476600741
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	03/19/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Professor of theatre and English F. Arant Maginnes taught at Birmingham-Southern College, the University of Alabama, and George Washington University. She lives near Washington, D.C.
Professor of theatre and English F. Arant Maginnes taught at Birmingham-Southern College, the University of Alabama, and George Washington University. She lives near Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
List of Illustrations      xiii
Preface     
Introduction     

Part
The Rise to Fame, 1775–1803
1. “This Wild Immeasurably Spread”—1800     
2. British-Born—1775–88     
3. “Aut Caesar aut Nihil”—1788–92     
4. “The Die Is Cast”—1792–93     
5. “My Fortune Smiles”     
An Irish Benefit—1793     
“Wretched Set of Mummers—1794     
6. “A Young Gentleman”     
Mr. Holcroft—1795     
First Appearance—1795–96     
7. The Wheel of Fortune—1796–98     
8. The New House     
The Park Debu—1798     
André—1799     
New Successes—1799     
9. “Fame Is My Deity”     
New York City—1799–1800     
Philadelphia—1800–01     
10. Rising Returns—1801–03     

Part
The American Star, 1803–1849
11. An American Indeed     
Drury Lane—1803     
The Provinces—1803–04     
12. The United States’ Star     
New York and Philadelphia—1804-05     
Boston—1805–06     
The South—1806–07     
13. Yankee Ingenuity     
Itinerant Star—1807–10     
“This Glorious Son of York”—1810     
“A Hearty Welcome”—1811–12     
14. The American Roscius—1812–19     
15. A Rival     
A New Vogue—1819–20     
“A Triumph to Cooper”—1820–21     
16. A New Venue—1820–25     
17. Turning Tide     
An American Tragedian—1825–28     
Success and Sorrow—1828–33     
18. “The Father of the American Stage”—1833–36     

Epilogue 1835–49     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

fascinating”—The Weathercock; “Maginnes has done...a great service in publishing these letters”—Enlightenment and Dissent.

From the Publisher