The Little French Lawyer

Author(s): Fletcher, John
Note: Date of performance from Wiggins, vol. 7, p. 257. Source: Mateo Alemán’s Guzmán de Alfarache (1604); it was translated into French by Jean Chapelain in 1619, and into English by James Mabbe in 1622.
Date of composition:
  • 1620 (best guess, Wiggins, vol. 7, p. 254)
  • 1619 -1623 (Annals, p 112; Wiggins, vol. 7, p. 254)
Date of first performance: 1620 approx.
Date of first publication: 1647
Genre (Annals): Comedy

Catalogue references: Wiggins: 1941 (Vol. 7)
HIERONIMO/EMOTHE text(s): 1647 folio transcript
  • 1647 folio Raworth, Ruth; Warren, Thomas (1); White, Robert (1); Islip, Susan; Griffin, Edward (2); Macock, John Moseley, Humphrey; Robinson, Humphrey Printed title: THE LITTLE FRENCH LAWYER play in print collection
      ESTC: R22900 B1581 5143.03 for play, 5143 for collection 639a
      EEBO-TCP: A27177 - Harvard University Library - EEBO record for collection – TCP HTML for collection HML
      Observations: Included in collection "COMEDIES AND TRAGEDIES Written by FRANCIS BEAVMONT AND IOHN FLETCHER Gentlemen"

  • STC/WING:
  • ESTC:
  • DEEP:
  • Greg:
  • Wiggins:

Early Performances

  • Company: The King’s Men Venue: Date: 1620 approx,
    Cast:
    • Benfield, Robert
    • Eccleston, William
    • Holcombe, Thomas
    • Lowin, John
    • Taylor, Joseph
    Location: Venue type: unknown
    Information source:
  • Company: The King’s Men Venue: The Blackfriars Date: 1641
    Cast:
      Location: Venue type: commercial theatre
      Note: Reported in 1669 to have been performed by the King's Men at the Blackfriars before 1642 (Wiggins, vol. 7, p. 254). Indoor “private” theatre
      Information source: Wiggins, Martin. British Drama 1533-1642: A Catalogue. Volume 7: 1617-1623. 2017.

    Modern editions

    • Fletcher, John; Massinger, Philip The Little French Lawyer. In: Turner, Robert Kean, ed. The Dramatic Works in the Beaumont and Fletcher Canon. Vol. 9. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 323–459
    • Fletcher, John; Massinger, Philip The Little French Lawyer. In: Brett, Cyril, ed. Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. Vol. 4. London: G. Bell & Sons, 1912, pp. 91–206
    • Waller, A. R, ed. The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1906.

    Select Bibliography: Criticism

    • Rigaud, N. J. "Mental cruelty in Fletcher's 'The Little French Lawyer'". Cahiers élisabéthains. 1982, 22, p. 35-9.
    • Evans, G. Blakemore. "Note on Fletcher and Massinger's 'Little French Lawyer'". MLN: modern language notes. 1937, 52, p. 406-7.

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