The story is, according to the title page of most printed versions, "Adapted from the French of "Sullivan", which was founded on a German Dramatization of a pretended Incident in Garrick's Life." "Sullivan" was a French comic play of 1852 by Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville, which Adams' "Dictionary of Drama" claims to have been based on Joseph Bouchardy's 1836 short story "Garrick Médecin." The confusion with the "German dramatization" appears to be thus – "Garrick Médecin" was adapted into another French play entitled "Le Docteur Robin", which became widely known through a German translation. A misunderstanding caused the belief that "Sullivan" was actually based on "Doktor Robin" rather than the two being based on a mutual source, as evidenced in an 1895 article in "The New York Times". Another German play, "Garrick in Bristol", added to the confusion.