Charles Johnson, The Successful Pyrate. A Play. As it is acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane

Robert G Dryden (University of Hartford)

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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), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1712

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Although Charles Johnson's tragic-comedy

The Successful Pyrate

failed financially, it did reach the stage of Drury Lane's Theatre Royal in 1712 for a run of four nights and was printed in 1713. Aspects of the play were adapted from Lodowick Carlell's

Arviragus and Philicia

(1639), but the central idea originated with the 1694 attack in East Indian waters of a ship belonging to the Mogul of India by the pirate John Avery. Since the attack by an “English pirate” jeopardized trade relations between Britain and India, the incident received a great deal of attention. Rumors and misinformation circulated in Britain and abroad that the Mogul's wife, daughter or granddaughter had been on the Indian ship, had been kidnapped by the pirate and married him, and was crowned pirate queen. According…

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2111 words

Citation: Dryden, Robert G. "The Successful Pyrate. A Play. As it is acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19498, accessed 29 March 2025.]