Play List:

1. The Rath Boys

2. The Witchfinder

3. A Madcap Prince

4. Corinne

5. The Queen of Connaught

6. The Nine Days’ Queen

7. The Mormons

8. The Shadow of the Sword

9. Lucy Brandon

10. Storm-Beaten

11. Lady Clare

[Flowers of the Forest]

12. A Sailor and His Lass

13. Bachelors

14. Constance

15. Lottie

16. Agnes

17. Alone in London

18. Sophia

19. Fascination

20. The Blue Bells of Scotland

21. Partners

22. Joseph’s Sweetheart

23. That Doctor Cupid

24. Angelina!

25. The Old Home

26. A Man’s Shadow

27. Theodora

28. Man and the Woman

29. Clarissa

30. Miss Tomboy

31. The Bride of Love

32. Sweet Nancy

33. The English Rose

34. The Struggle for Life

35. The Sixth Commandment

36. Marmion

37. The Gifted Lady

38. The Trumpet Call

39. Squire Kate

40. The White Rose

41. The Lights of Home

42. The Black Domino

43. The Piper of Hamelin

44. The Charlatan

45. Dick Sheridan

46. A Society Butterfly

47. Lady Gladys

48. The Strange Adventures of Miss Brown

49. The Romance of the Shopwalker

50. The Wanderer from Venus

51. The Mariners of England

52. Two Little Maids from School

53. When Knights Were Bold

___

Short Plays

Other Plays

Buchanan’s Theatrical Ventures in America

Poetry Readings

ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN (1841 - 1901)

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THEATRE REVIEWS

17. Alone in London (1885)

 

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.)

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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.

bostglobeadalone02

Next: Sophia (1886)

Back to Bibliography, Plays, Harriett Jay Theatre Reviews or Buchanan’s Theatrical Ventures in America

 

Home
Biography
Bibliography

 

Poetry
Plays
Fiction

 

Essays
Reviews
Letters

 

The Fleshly School Controversy
Buchanan and the Press
Buchanan and the Law

 

The Critical Response
Harriett Jay
Miscellanea

 

Links
Site Diary
Site Search