The Siege of Pevensey was Burney’s third tragedy and believed to have been begun shortly after Hubert de Vere in 1790. Unlike her first tragedy, Edwy and Elgiva, The Siege of Pevensey was never performed and remained unpublished until Sabor’s collected edition of Burney’s plays in 1995. Shorter than either of her other two completed tragedies, the timings added in Burney’s own hand in 1836 put the play’s running time at two hours (Sabor, 166).
The play is set in the camp of William II during a civil war with his elder brother, Robert, in 1088. The action centres around the Earl of Chester and his daughter, Adela, who, when the play opens, has been kidnapped by Robert’s army and is being …
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Citation: Crouch, Eleanor. "The Siege of Pevensey". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 July 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23810, accessed 23 November 2024.]
