In 1853, he moved to New York, where he soon became a hit with plays like "The Poor of New York" (1857), "Dot" (1859, based on Charles Dickens's "The Cricket on the Hearth") and "The Octoroon" (1859). These plays tackled issues such as urban poverty and slavery. Boucicault was also involved in getting the 1856 law on copyright passed through Congress. His last New York play was "The Colleen Bawn" (1860). In that year, Boucicault returned to London to stage "The Colleen Bawn" and the play ran for 247 performances at The Adelphi Theatre. He wrote several more successful plays, including "The Shaughran" (1875) and "Robert Emmet" (1884). These later plays helped perpetuate the stereotype of the drunken, hotheaded, garrulous Irishman that had been common on the British stage since the time of Shakespeare. Other Irish dramatists of the period include John Banim and Gerald Griffin, whose novel "The Collegians " formed the basis for "The Colleen Bawn".