George Colman the Younger
George Colman | |
---|---|
Born | 21 October 1762 |
Died | 17 October 1836 | (aged 73)
Nationality | British |
Education | Westminster School; Christ Church, Oxford; King's College, Aberdeen |
Occupation(s) | Playwright; examiner of plays |
George Colman (21 October 1762 – 17 October 1836), known as "the Younger", was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. He was the son of George Colman the Elder.
Life
He passed from
The failing health of the elder Colman obliged him to relinquish the management of the Haymarket theatre in 1789, when the younger George succeeded him, at a yearly salary of £600. On the death of the father the patent was continued to the son; however, difficulties arose, as he was involved in litigation with Thomas Harris and was unable to pay the expenses of the performances at the Haymarket. He was forced to take sanctuary within the Rules of the King's Bench Prison. He resided for many years while he continued to direct the affairs of his theatre.[1]
Released through the kindness of
He had, as early as 1784, contracted a runaway marriage with an actress, Clara Morris, to whose brother David Morris, he disposed of his share in the Haymarket theatre eventually. He wrote many of the leading parts in his plays for Maria Gibbs (née Logan) especially, whom he married at Clerkenwell in June 1836[1] after the death of his first wife that January.[2]
He died in Brompton, London. He was buried alongside his father in Kensington Church.[3]
Works
His comedies are a curious mixture of genuine comic force and sentimentality. A collection of them was published (1827) in Paris, with a life of the author, by J. W. Lake.[1]
His first play, The Female Dramatist (1782), for which
Colman, whose witty conversation made him a favourite, was also the author of a great deal of so-called humorous poetry (mostly coarse, though much of it was popular) – My Night Gown and Slippers (1797), reprinted under the name of Broad Grins, in 1802; and Poetical Vagaries (1812). Some of his writings were published under the assumed name of Arthur Griffinhood of Turnham Green.[1]
Literary hoaxes
After his death, Colman was stated falsely to have been the author of certain
Further reading
See the second George Colman's memoirs of his early life, entitled Random Records (1830), and RB Peake, Memoirs of the Colman Family (1842).
Selected plays
- John Bull (1803)
- Who Wants a Guinea? (1805)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Terry Jenkins, 'The true facts of Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes' in Traces; uncovering Australia's past, No. 13 (Melbourne, December 2020).
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ archive.org
- ^ Waltz, Robert B. (2021). "The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World". The Traditional Ballad Index. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
- ISBN 0-7100-6681-3.
- ISBN 0-7486-0619-X.
- ^ Lycett, Andrew (12 March 2001). "Erotic heaven". New Statesman.
- ISBN 0-271-01974-3.
- ISBN 978-90-5201-548-4.
Attribution:
- Knight, John Joseph (1887). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 11. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Colman, George s.v. His son, George Colman". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 695. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the