British Theatre, The by Elizabeth Inchbald

In 1806, playwright, novelist, and retired actor Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson 1753–1821) was commissioned to write 125 critical prefaces for a collection of plays titled The British Theatre. The collection was initially released serially over a span of 2 years before being published in a 25-volume edition in 1808. Inchbald’s prefaces marked the most substantial theatrical criticism ever to be written by a woman, and the commercial success of the collection confirmed her reputation as England’s preeminent woman dramatist and judge of theatrical taste. At the time, literary criticism was considered a uniquely masculine pursuit, and Inchbald’s criticism is therefore notable for offering a woman’s insider perspective on theatre-making. Playwright George Colman the Younger, whose plays featured heavily in The British Theatre, took issue with a woman criticizing his work and sent a disparaging letter to her publisher that was later printed in the collection alongside Inchbald’s own letter of defense, in which she wittily mocks Colman’s arrogance and chauvinism. The British Theatre marked the last major project of Inchbald’s impressive career in the theatre.