1731

Research Project:

Letter From DD to Professor Laura Rofenthal :

December 2013

Professor,

Attached are letters written by distant ancestor of mine. I found these letters in my attic among some old documents. They matched the year of my research project, so I decided to submit them in lieu of a research project. I swear that every word contained is true, and I have neither inserted nor taken away anything from these letters; I am merely a humble transcriber.

Your Humble Student, D

//** January 1731 **//

Dear Father, Why did you subscribe me to // The Gentleman’s Magazine // ? It has very little to do with my singular passion for the London theater. I was shocked when mother handed me a copy of the periodical’s premier issue this morning. A new periodical! What wonder! I was so excited tell all of my friends the theatrical insider information I would glean from this volume. I looked through it with all expedience, and I found nothing at all about the current state of plays in London. If you truly loved me and knew of my passion, you would have subscribed me // The Daily Post, // //The Daily Journal//, or //The Daily Courant//. All of my friends read these periodicals, and they say that these periodicals say such wonderful things about London’s theaters. Future history books will claim these periodicals to be the best sources of theater news, but I assure you that // The Gentleman’s Magazine // will not.

Perhaps, father, if you insist on buying me only the newest periodicals, I would like to read //The Daily Advertiser//. //The Daily Advertiser// is going to be a new periodical coming out sometime this year. If you would be willing to trade the subscription, I would appreciate trying this one out. If // The Daily Advertiser // has theater news, I will be able to go down to the coffee shop and read it to all my friends. None of them will have it, and I will be the most popular child in my coffeehouse.

This periodical that you have subscribed me to, on the other hand, is largely comprised of summarizing the weekly essays of other periodical and mostly concerns itself with petty issues like the ethics of society. It gives a summary of the events of the month, but it is usually deaths and promotions and fires and the prices of various goods. // The Gentleman’s Magazine // must have an audience, but this audience does not include me. I would prefer a much less rounded periodical-- one that talks about theater.

But please disregard my request for a new magazine if you would be willing to use the money to send me to the theater instead. I would much rather report the specifics of a theater production to my friends than read them a periodical. After all, each theatrical production is an event that will only ever happen but once. Periodicals don’t have the same sense of urgency-- I could wait 282 years to read my periodical, and the content would be the same.

As you know, last year, a new theater in Goodman’s Fields opened, dear Father, and many of my friends have already seen a play there. Its opening has been the subject of so much controversy since you left. My favorite coffeehouse is quite a buzz with debate. The question everybody is asking is if there are too many theaters in London already. I, with my singular passion for theater, find the idea of there being too many theaters absurd.

I will say, father, that loitering in the coffeehouses has taught me one thing in particular. Now-- that being this year 1731-- is, in fact, the best year to be a young theater lover like myself. Nowadays, between all of the London theaters, there are at least four or five plays performing a night. And these plays are not all that indecent burlesque shows and contortionist shows, as you claim, father. There are highbrow plays of every sort: Shakespeare, operas, dramas, comedies, and satires. Every night I look at the schedules and dream of all the plays I would attend to if I had the money to do so.

I have noticed, however, that there has recently been a dramatic drop in Shakespeare’s plays. Before, almost 17% of all London plays were from Shakespeare, but now the ratio is merely one Shakespeare play out of every eight London plays! Father, if you do not quickly send me to see a Shakespeare Play, I may never see one. Today the ratio is one in eight, and tomorrow it will be one in sixteen! I exaggerate, of course, but please allow me to go! To say that attending a proper Shakespeare play is my dream is the understatement of the 18th century.

Before I forget, Mother sends her love. Don’t let the natives defeat you like they did Robinson Crusoe; instead be like the heroic Tom Thumb the giant slayer from Fielding's play last year, at least before he died (twice). If you refrain from upsetting any queens, you should be be able to survive any encounters with the aliens of your journey.

Signed Your loving child. P.S. Please send me money to attend the theater. P.P.S. To alleviate any ambiguity, Father, I actually never saw Tom Thumb; I just know of the plot because my friends in the coffee shop told me of it.

//** March 1731 **// Wonderful Father,

Mother once again sends her love.

I appreciate the money that you sent with your last letter, but it pains me to report that the funds are only going to be sufficient to pay our rent and for food for Mother and me. There was no money left to afford me to attend a London play. I’m pretty sure the merchant industry is doing well enough for me to see one play! Many of my friends have china similar to the china you bring back.

If you find this letter compelling, I would like to report that // The Tragedy of Tragedies // will be premiering on March 24. Please let me go, father. It is only sixpence to see Henry Fielding's update of his classic play Tom Thumb.

I get the strange feeling that this play will be much improved from the previous version of //Tom Thumb//, which I have never seen. If I saw this new and improved version of the play, I would surely be the most popular child in the coffee shop. I just wish these letters didn’t take so long to travel. I so love hearing my fellows talk about the exploits of the heroic Tom Thumb and his quest to gain the love of the Princess Huncamunca. It is fascinating to see the fluid mythology of our and any era. Characters such as Tom Thumb, and even more ancient characters such as King Arthur, are finding new life constantly through theater productions and stories. Even within two years, it is fascinating to see such a dramatic shift in tone. I must see this play to witness this evolution. And, Father, surely you could have found a better periodical for me than //The Gentleman’s Magazine//. It really has nothing to do with theater. Theater is, as you know, my singular passion. The headline essay for this month was defending the Jews in society. What do I care about Jews; their stryfe has nothing to do with theater. The discussion and demonizing of the Jews does remind of the single debate that the truth-loving Hwuuinums Wouyhnhnhnms  weird horse people prominent in the fourth book of Swift’s __Gulliver’s Travels__. (I heard this book read aloud in the coffeeshop; I do not own this book because you haven’t sent me money.) Well, anyway father, I feel like discussing whether the Jews should stay is like how they were discussing if the Yahoos (humans, father) should be exterminated. I wonder if this kind of talk is what Swift was satirizing.

I’m not sure whether the fact that this question of the worthiness of an entire race of people is being asked is indicative of our society becoming more cosmopolitan or less. On one hand, their defense is reliving, but, as you know, all debate has two sides. There must be those out there who hate all jewish people for merely being Jews. All I know is that I feel that if the anti-semitism doesn’t stop, it could lead to conflict on a global scale. I exaggerate again, father. But I just want London to be fully cosmopolitan so that your china will sell better so I can buy books and see plays and be a modern sort of child. I love you. Don’t be attacked by pirates. I know they will try to steal all the silver on the boat, and they may kill you which would mean that Mother and I would starve, and I would never see a play. Signed Your Child.

//** June 1731 **// Father! Father! My subscription to //The Gentleman’s Magazine// has finally paid off! They finally reported news dealing with theater. Apparently at Miss Holiday’s benefit play on the 7th of last month Miss Holiday, “received from the Royal Family, over and above the usual Present, a large Gold Metal, weighing about 50 Guineas, with a bust of her Majesty as Electress of Hannover on each side.” I’m not sure if my singular passion for theater can accept the idea of plays being put on for charity-- especially with such extravagance being given the elite members of society.

It seems to me that, based upon the love given to the rich members of our city, there is too much an emphasis in being elite in our lives. Plays like // The Way of the World // and books like __Love in Excess__ both discuss upward mobility and frame it, at least initially, as an endeavor people should want to attempt. Both of these works show young lower-class people trying to gain status through their dealings with higher class persons. The sheer amount of treachery that these characters went through is enough to repel anyone from mimicking such an endeavor. At least I, the child of a merchant, have the luxury of having the time to learn to read, but many of my friends can not. Hopefully, as time goes on the literacy rate will increase so that all people can share the ability to be informed of current events without having to deal with the treachery of high society.

This month is quite a month for a lover of theater like myself. Not only is the theater mentioned in your periodical’s news section, but I am also getting excited for what the future will bring to theater. I have noticed that theater is becoming very experimental For instance father, on the 22nd of this month, with the money you sent I just saw a production Lilo’s London Merchant! But that’s not the crazy part. The actors themselves put on the play. They have created their own pseudo-theater company. I’m not sure exactly what happened, because I am but a child and the rumors are flying and changing so fast that I can’t keep straight what is occurring. I looked in my magazine hoping to see news of this occurrence and satiate my curiosity, but I only saw news of some doctor stealing books. Why couldn’t I have gotten a better periodical? Mother says you are coming home soon. I hope that you will stay for a few weeks this time. I know that I am singularly passionate about theater, but it would be nice to be able to read this magazine with you. Please be safe. Mother misses you. Signed Your Child

Works Cited

(Cave 1) Cave, Edward (ed.). The Gentleman's Magazine: or, Monthly Intellegencer, Jan. 1731-Dec. 1735 (Jan 1731).

(Cave 2) Cave, Edward (ed.). The Gentleman's Magazine: or, Monthly Intellegencer, Jan. 1731-Dec. 1735 (Mar 1731).

(Cave 3) Cave, Edward (ed.). The Gentleman's Magazine: or, Monthly Intellegencer, Jan. 1731-Dec. 1735 (Jun 1731).

Fielding, Henry. __The Tragedy of Tragedies, or, the Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great. As it__ __is acted at the theatre in the Hay-Market. With annotations of H. Scriblerus secundus.__ London, MDCCXXXI. [1731]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. University of Maryland College Park. 11 Dec. 2013 < [|__http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=umd_um&tabID=T001&docId=CW3314825182&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE__] >.

Scouten, Arthur H. The London Stage 1660 - 1800. Vol. 1 Part 3. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 1960. Print. 1729-1747.