- Edward Ravenscroft
Edward Ravenscroft (1654?–1707), English
dramatist , belonged to an ancientFlintshire family.He was entered at the
Middle Temple , but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Among his pieces are
*"Mamamouchi ", or "The Citizen turned Gentleman" (Dorset Garden , 1671, pr. 1675)
*"The Careless Lovers " (Dorset Garden, 1673, pr. 1673), a comedy of intrigue
*"Scaramouch a Philosopher ", "Harlequin a Schoolboy ", "Bravo a Merchant and Magician " (Theatre Royal, 1677)
*"English Lawyer " (Theatre Royal, 1678), an adaptation ofGeorge Ruggle 'sLatin play of "Ignoramus", presented before James I atCambridge in March 1615;
*"The London Cuckolds " (Dorset Garden, 1681, pr. 1683), which became a stock piece, but was struck out of the repertory byDavid Garrick in 1751
*"The Italian Husband " (Lincoln's Inn Fields , 1697). He wrote a total of twelve plays, in which he adapted freely fromMolière and others. He ventured to decry the heroic drama, andJohn Dryden retaliated by satirizing his "Mamamouchi", a foolish adaptation from Molière's "Bourgeois Gentilhomme " and "Monsieur de Pourceaugnac ", in the prologue to the "Assignation " (Dryden, Works, ed. Scott, iv. 345 seq.)References
*1911|article=Edward Ravenscroft|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Edward_Ravenscroft
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