Thomas Otway, The Souldiers Fortune

Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College)

Ed. by Jennifer Brady, Rhodes College
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1680

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Play

Resources

First Performance and Publication

Otway’s The Souldiers Fortune was first performed by the Duke of York’s Theatre in the spring of 1680, and published in 1681 by Richard Bentley, the Covent Garden stationer and bookseller who printed three of Otway’s plays, including The Orphan (1680) and the sequel to The Souldiers Fortune, The Atheist (1683). The comedy was highly successful. John Downes recalled in 1708 that The Souldiers Fortune “took extraordinary well, and being perfectly Acted, got the Company great Reputation and Profit” (Ghosh, 1:53), so much so that Otway was encouraged to write “The Second Part of the Soldiers Fortune” for the United Company three years later. …

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2323 words

Citation: Brady, Jennifer. "The Souldiers Fortune". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 August 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34672, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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