Robert Dodsley, The Toy-Shop

Ian Gordon (Anglia Ruskin University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1975

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play
Satire

Resources

This short, one-act play, or “dramatic satire”, as Robert Dodsley entitles it on the title page, was first produced at Covent Garden, as an “afterpiece”, by John Rich on 3 February 1735. The play was an immediate success, running to at least thirty-four performances and ten published editions before the end of the year. This enormous vogue is difficult to account for today, for it seems a slight work, lacking plot or satiric edge. It is more of a vignette, or dramatised episode, than a one-act play, with its appeal at the time probably lying as much in its performance as in its content.

What action there is takes place in a toy-shop. The master of the shop, the only character developed in any detail, is described as a �…

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388 words

Citation: Gordon, Ian. "The Toy-Shop". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 December 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16871, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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