"In ""Speed The Plough"" by Thomas Morton (1798) which character never appeared, but became a symbol of public prudery and conventional morality?"
Speed the Plough Speed the Plough Speed the Plough is a five-act comedy by Thomas Morton, first performed in 1798 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden to great acclaim. It is mostly remembered today for the sake of the unseen character, Mrs Grundy. The play may have been inspired by August Kotzebue's "Graf von Burgund" ("Count of Burgundy"), which had recently failed at the same theatre. Kotzebue's more serious play also concerns a young man named Henry who is ignorant of his own origins. Mrs Ashfield is at the market when she is approached by a handsome young nobleman who gives her a
Thomas Morton (playwright) Garden 11 January 1798, though a better play than the preceding, was less popular. "Speed the Plough," a five-act comedy, 8vo, 1798, Covent Garden, 8 Feb. 1798, was acted forty-one times, and often revived. "The Blind Girl, or a Receipt for Beauty," a comic opera in three acts (songs only printed), Covent Garden, 22 April 1801, was played eight times. "Beggar my Neighbour, or a Rogue's a Fool," a comedy in three acts (unprinted), Haymarket, 10 July 1802, was assigned to Morton but unclaimed by him, being damned the first night. It was afterwards converted into "How to tease and