Theophilus Cibber first produced Robert Dodsley's satire on the court,
The King and the Miller of Mansfield, at Drury Lane on 30 January 1737. The play was a great theatrical success, attracting thirty-seven performances in its first season alone, before going on to become one of the eighteenth century's most frequently performed pieces of theatre. In this short, six-scene play, Dodsley transposes the court from London to his native Sherwood Forest, where a King, named “Harry”, and his courtiers lose contact with each other while out hunting. The king, wandering alone, meets one of his keepers, a miller called John Cockle, in the forest. Challenged by the miller, who does not know whom he is addressing, the king declares himself to be one, who has “the Honour to belong to the…
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Citation: Gordon, Ian. "The King and the Miller of Mansfield". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 December 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16866, accessed 24 November 2024.]
