1728

__**International News as Reported by //The London Evening Post// from Jan. 1728 – June 1728**__ There were two major events taking place in the world during this time period. Towards the east, there were massive tensions between the Ottoman Turks, Persia, and Russia. In January of this year, the Ottoman Empire negotiated a peace treaty with the Persians. [1] They had been at war beforehand, and this treaty stopped all hostilities between the two. Tensions then started to develop between Persia and the Ottoman Empire and Russia as Tartar revolts against the Russians started to occur. This started with a Tartar uprising against Russia that started in January and continued through the spring, and the Persians and the Ottoman Empire backed them. [2] The Tartars were a group of Turkish descent who had been taken over by the Russian Empire, and thus the Ottomans and the Russians were fighting over boundary disputes primarily. The conflict ended in June after a peace treaty was signed and borders were agreed upon. [3]

The other event that was occurring were hostilities between England and Spain over Gibraltar. Gibraltar is an English territory on the tip of the Iberian Peninsula that they had won by force from the Spanish in the early 18th century. English possession of the territory is still a hotly contested issue today because Spain still claims it is part of their country. The //London Evening Post// reports of sieges that happened in the territory, British Merchant ships that had been attacked by Spanish ships in the area, and English naval deployments to the area. [4][5][6] A major focus of the news paper was the negotiation of an Accommodation for Peace between the Spanish and the English in order to cease the fighting around Gibraltar. [7] The passing of this Accommodation was delayed for a while because the Spanish king fell ill. [8] It eventually was signed in March [7]. __**National News as Reported by //The London Evening Post// from Jan. 1728- June 1728**__

Most of the national news was covered in a section called “London” in each issue that consisted of brief, usually single sentence, articles about things that had happened in the town. Usually these consisted of marriage announcements, reports of crimes, the opening of plays, and death announcements. There was almost nothing written about theater besides the anouncement of shows. Some of the more interesting things that came up in this section were a marriage that happened between a black chimney sweeper for the king and a woman from a noble family, a woman who was bitten by a cat and died of madness afterwards, and a “comical accident” where a Baronet's grandson mistakenly got into a coach with a noble woman on her way to get married and whose friends had to rescue him from the wedding (which is very reminiscent of something that would happen in the comedies performed back then). [9] [10] [11] Other interesting things that appeared in the paper were jabs at other periodicals. One example was in April 6th issue when they published the full will of Francis Bancroft, a draper, without charging extra for the paper in order to “labour and expence to exceed...the other evening papers”. [12] Another example of this was in a small article published on May 14th the paper lashed out at //The Daily Journal// for publishing “erroneous” reports and promised to occasionally from then on report “a list of [//The Daily Journal's//] blunders” so readers could distinguish between “true sterling and refined brass”. [13] The newspaper also included letters from an anonymous submitter who called himself Philalethes who savagely railed on Pope and Swift for publishing “flagrant piece[s] of plagiary”.[14] //The London Evening Standard// showed how vicious London's print culture could be.

__**Theater in London in 1928**__ The most memorable thing about the theater in London during the 1727-1728 season was the opening of //The Beggar's Opera// by John Gay. It was an absolute smash success when it came up and revived the theater in London. It ran for 32 consecutive nights and a total of 62 performances during the season at Lincoln's Inn Fields. [15] The other remarkably successful play that came out at the same time was Cibber Colley's reworking of the fragments of //The Provoked Husband// that were left behind by John Vanbrugh when he died. That play ran for 28 consecutive nights at Drury Lane and set new records for the theater. [15] Some other notable events that occurred during this season were that financial problems forced the King's Theatre, operated by the Royal Academy of Music, to stop performing operas and there was a summer season performed at Lincoln's Inn Fields. [15] The main publications that advertised productions were //The Daily Journal, The Daily Post,// and //The Daily Courant//. [15]. //__**The Provoked Husband**__//

__Plot__

There are three different plots that occur simultaneously in the play. The first plot is the one between Lord Townly and Lady Townly. Lord Townly is frustrated that his wife spends all of her money and time away from him gambling while he is left at home alone. He feels like his love for his wife is not returned because of how much time she spends away from him gambling in London with her other lady friends. The play starts off with him getting in an argument with her over this, and she just winds up getting frustrated with him. Lord Townly's friend Mr. Manly suggests that the reason why he was having trouble with Lady Townly is because he is still in love with her and has not been treating her autocratically like a husband should. He takes Mr. Manly's suggestion and decides to kick Lady Townly out of his house after she returns late in the morning from a masquerade. Lady Townly is absolutely devastated by this, and she promptly decides to reform her ways and obey her husband. Lord Townly forgives Lady Townly because he sees that she has had a complete change of heart and really does love him, as she shows by her willingness to obey him. The second plot involves the Wronghead family. Sir Francis Wronghead is a country man who has run for parliament office in London as part a scheme to escape from the debt he accrued in the country. He brings along his family which includes Lady Wronghead, the fop Squire Richard Wronghead, his son, and Jenny Wronghead, his daughter. Mr. Manly is Sir Francis' cousin, and he wants more than anything to get the family out of his hair and away from London. The family lodges at Count Basset's lodgings, but it turns out that he is a complete crook. He attempts to swoon Jenny and steal her from Lady Wronghead at a Masquerade, and he also forges a five hundred pound bill that he gives to one of his servants. Sir Francis' family is shown around the town, and they completely bankrupt him by buying baubles and trinkets. Both his son and daughter fall in love at a masquerade, the former with a servant and the latter with the Count. This all becomes a massive issue for him, especially since he is unable to secure a job in the court because he is not the world's most eloquent man. Mr. Manly convinces Sir Francis to leave London after making him aware of all this. Sir Francis is able to convince his family to leave before any of the marriages happen.

The third plot involves Mr. Manly, the central character of the play. He falls in love with Lady Grace, and they both acknowledge their love for each other at the beginning of the play. Lady Grace is Lord Townly's sister, and the match would only serve to bring the two friends closer together. Mr. Manly end up busting the Count's schemes after he receives a letter that had been clearly forged by him. He helps the servant woman who receives the fake money from the Count out of her predicament by calling a constable on the Count. The play ends with him exposing the Count's villainy infront of the whole Wronghead family and forcing the Count to marry the servant he wronged. In the last lines of the play, Mr. Manly gets married to Lady Grace.
 * __Conclusion: //The Provoked Husband// Within the Context of 1728 as Gathered From //The London Evening Post//__**

//The Provoked Husband// could not be any less different than its more successful competition //The Beggar's Opera.// The biggest difference is that it is a sentimental comedy as opposed to being a comedy of manners like the later play. The play ends with two marriages and Lady Townly falling back in love with Lord Townly, and not the cynical double ending of Gay's play. It makes sense that it would be popular during this time period, because as previously discussed while studying //The Conscious Lovers,// the sentimental comedy had taken over the Restoration's comedy of manners' popularity in the early 18th century.

The major ways the play reflects was reported in //The London Evening Post// from January to the end of June was Sir Francis and his involvement with parliament. While periodical shied away from any critiques of parliament officials there was an issue whose front page was devoted to publishing all of the new members in addition to all of the returning members of parliament. The play has a lot to say about parliament members, much of which could be played sarcastically (especially since its praise comes from Sir Wronghead) or as celebrating parliament. An example of this would be when Sir Francis mentions how parliament members work so hard that they “sometimes go to dinner at midnight”. [16] Sir Francis' motives for joining the parliament are suspect since he is only interested because it would be a way to get him out of the debt he as accumulated in the country. He barely lasts a fortnight at the court because the arguments there over “the good of the nation” were “long winded o' both sides”. [17] Sir Francis becomes a way the play critiques parliament, and parliament is certainly something that comes up in //The London Evening Standard//.

Another way that the play reflects //The London Evening Post// is that the play comments on London's newspaper culture a few times. The “London” section of the newspaper tended to cover all of the marriages and scandals that occurred in the town. This is repeatedly commented on in the play. When Lady Wronghead asks Mrs. Motherly how she found out that Mr. Manly was in love with Lady Grace, Motherly exclaims that “it has been in the news-papers!”. [18] Lady Townly, towards the end of the play, mentions how the “world is fond of any tale that feeds its appetite of scandal”. [19] Mr. Manly at the end of the play mentions how “marriage is, at worst, but playing upon the square” meaning that a big part of marriage amongst the elites involved performing in public. [20] The play reflects how so much of the elites lives were being covered in newspapers like //The London Evening Post.//

While //The Provoked Husband// included none of the international affairs that //The London Evening Post// focused on, the play does show some of the things the “London” section of the paper discussed. Together they both serve to create a portrait of life in London during 1728.

References 1. //London Evening Post// [London] 20 Jan. 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 2. //London Evening Post// [London] 25 Jan. 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 3. //London Evening Post// [London] 11 June 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 4. //London Evening Post// [London] 27 Feb. 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 5. //London Evening Post// [London] 11 Jan. 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 6. //London Evening Post// [London] 18 Jan. 1728; 2.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 7. //London Evening Post// [London] 16 March 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 8. //London Evening Post// [London] 5 March 1728; 1-4.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014.

9. //London Evening Post// [London] 2 May 1728; 2.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 10. //London Evening Post// [London] 13 June 1728; 3.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 11. //London Evening Post// [London] 16 Jan. 1728; 2.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014.

12. //London Evening Post// [London] 6 April 1728; 1.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 13. //London Evening Post// [London] 14 May 1728; 3.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 14. //London Evening Post// [London] 21 March 1728; 2.//17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers//. Web. 7 July 2014. 15. Avery, Emmett L. "Season of 1727-1728." //The London Stage//. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois U Pr., 1968. 931-82. Print. 16. Cibber, Colley. //The Provoked Husband; or A Journey to London//. London: W. Lowndes, 1788. 57. //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//. Web. 7 July 2014. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">17. Cibber, Colley. //The Provoked Husband; or A Journey to London//. London: W. Lowndes, 1788. 59. //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//. Web. 7 July 2014. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">18. Cibber, Colley. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">The Provoked Husband; or A Journey to London //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">. London: W. Lowndes, 1788. 33. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">Eighteenth Century Collections Online //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 1.5;">. Web. 7 July 2014.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">19. Cibber, Colley. //The Provoked Husband; or A Journey to London//. London: W. Lowndes, 1788. 74. //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//. Web. 7 July 2014. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">20. Cibber, Colley. //The Provoked Husband; or A Journey to London//. London: W. Lowndes, 1788. 86. //Eighteenth Century Collections Online//. Web. 7 July 2014.