Page "The Duchess of Malfi" Paragraph 66

In 1850, after a generation of critical interest and theatrical neglect, the play was staged by Samuel Phelps at Sadler's Wells, with Isabella Glyn in the title role.

The text was adapted by Richard Henry Horne.

The production was favorably reviewed by The Athenaeum ; George Henry Lewes, however, registered disapproval of the play's violence and what he termed its shoddy construction: " Instead of ‘ holding the mirror up to nature ,’ this drama holds the mirror up to Madame Tussauds.

" These would become the cornerstones of criticisms of Webster for the next century.

Still, the play was popular enough for Glyn to revive her performance periodically for the next two decades.