|
Richard Cumberland (1732 - 1811)
Cambridge, England
Richard Cumberland
was the great-grandson of a prominent English philosopher
of the same name. He was the son of the Church of Ireland
Bishop of Clonfert. Cumberland attended school at Westminster
school and later graduated from Cambridge University. Cumberland's
sentimental touch in his works morphed into a significant
literary force in the late eighteenth century. He was also
deemed the master of stagecraft and observation of human
actions. Scholars today mostly credit him for his inspiration
for Sir Fretful Plagiary in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's
The Critic. In 1761, Cumberland became the private
secretary of the Earl of Halifax and held government positions
in his latter life. Some of his most successful dramas include
The Brothers (1769), a comedy based on Henry Fielding's
novel Thomas Jones; The West Indian (1771) was performed
by famous actor David Garrick throughout the eighteenth
century. Cumberland was a key player in the Romantic Drama
movement.
Works
The Brothers
(1769)
The West Indian (1771)
Arundel (1789)
Henry (1795)
Autobiography (1806-7)
Sources:
"Cumberland, Richard" The Columbian
Encyclopedia. Sixth Edition New York: Columbia University
Press July 2001. http://www.bartleby.com/65/cu/CumberR1732.html
"Cumberland, Richard" Briticanna.com.
2001. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?idxref=504661
|
