AloneinLondon

Alone in London; or, A woman against the world
by Robert Buchanan and Harriett Jay.
First Performance: Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia. 30 March, 1885.
New York: Park Theatre, Brooklyn. 18 May, 1885.
London: Olympic Theatre. 2 November, 1885 to 20 February, 1886 (107th performance).
Other Notable Performances:
Liverpool: Alexandra Theatre. 22 February, 1886. First date of provincial tour with the Olympic Theatre company, including Harriett Jay.
London: The Pavilion. 14 March, 1887.
Australia, Melbourne: Theatre Royal, 14 May, 1887.
London: Grand Theatre, Islington, 22 April, 1889.
London: Princess’s Theatre. 21 December, 1891 to 16 January, 1892.
Hanley: Theatre Royal. 20 June, 1898. (First date of the twelfth year of J. F. Elliston’s touring production.)
London: Princess’s Theatre. 30 September, 1899.

Novelisation: Alone in London / founded, by special permission, on the above popular drama by Harriet Jay and R. Buchanan. (London: 1892. Aldine Publishing Company. 62p; 22 cm. Series: Home library of powerful dramatic tales: 26.)
Film: Alone in London, directed by Larry Trimble, starring Florence Turner, 1915.

(Harriett Jay played the roles of both Tom Chickweed and Annie Meadows.)

Alone in London - the Programme
(The Olympic Programme and Looker-On - 7th November, 1885.)

From Harriett Jay’s biography of Robert Buchanan:

Chapter XXIV: Play-Writing:
“But the play which made the most money was “Alone in London,” the very one for which he cared the least; indeed, he could never bring himself to speak of it with anything but contempt. However, it has never failed to make money for everybody connected with it, but the money so earned brought him no satisfaction, for he was always ashamed of the source from which it sprang, and so, taking my consent for granted, he sold the piece for an absurdly small sum to Messrs. Miller and Elliston, and so parted with the goose which laid the golden eggs.”

Chapter XXVI: ‘On The Turf.’ Written by Mr. Henry Murray:
“If he took a theatre he invariably lost by hundreds and sometimes by thousands, and that too on the very plays which founded the fortunes of others, as, for instance, when he sold “Alone in London” for a mere song, to see it patrol the provinces year in year out, reaping a golden harvest for its lucky purchasers, who confessed that within ten years they had amassed £14,000 clear profit by the transaction.”

_____

1. Alone in London in America

   i. Buchanan’s account of the American origins of the play from the Olympic programme.
   ii. Extracts from reviews of the American productions from the Olympic programme.
   iii. Articles and reviews from American papers about Alone in London.
   iv. A little more about Cora Tanner.

2. Alone in London in London

   i. Harriett Jay’s return from America.
   ii. Programme for the performance of Alone in London on Saturday, 7th November, 1885.
   iii. Extracts of reviews from the Programme.
iv. Reviews of Alone in London at the Olympic Theatre.

3. Alone in London - Letters to the Press

   i. First night problems.
   ii. The Roselle v. Conover court case.
   iii. Arthur Lotto.

4. Alone in London in Court

i. Roselle v. Conover (wrongful dismissal).
ii. Roselle v. Buchanan (slander).

5. Alone in London after the Olympic

i. Additional reviews of provincial tours and London revivals.
ii. Alone in London - the film.

Next: Sophia (1886)

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