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Thomas Hamblin and the Bowery Theatre

The New York Reign of "Blood and Thunder” Melodramas

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  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Thomas A. Bogar

    1. Independent Scholar, Silver Spring, MD, USA

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  • Represents the first-ever critical biography of Thomas Hamblin
  • Provides a wealth of information on nineteenth American theatre history
  • Draws upon a wide array of research resources

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History (PSTPH)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 1-7

  3. “He Is Yet Very Young, Both in Years and Practice”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 9-29

  4. “Let Those Who View This Sad Example Know/What Fate Attends the Broken Marriage Vow”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 31-55

  5. “We Girls Always Patronize the Bowery”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 57-82

  6. “Throw Not the Pearl of Shakespeare’s Wit Before the Swine of the Bowery Pit”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 83-109

  7. “Down with the British Bastard!”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 111-132

  8. “Circumstances Never Satisfactorily Explained”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 133-154

  9. “Marius Brooding over the Ruins of Carthage”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 155-176

  10. “The Public Have Only Themselves to Blame for the Reign of Melodrama”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 177-196

  11. “The Sanity of All the Parties Are at Par Value”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 197-215

  12. “We Are Not Dead Yet, Boys!”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 217-235

  13. “The Noblest Roman of Them All”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 237-257

  14. “Blessings and Benedictions”

    • Thomas A. Bogar
    Pages 259-271

  15. Back Matter

    Pages 273-301
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Keywords

About this book

This book recounts the personal and professional life of Thomas Souness Hamblin (1800-1853), Shakespearean actor and Bowery Theatre manager. Primarily responsible for the popularity of “blood and thunder” melodramas with working class audiences in New York City, Hamblin discovered, trained and promoted many young actors and, especially, actresses who later became famous in their own right. He also epitomized the “sporting man” of mid-nineteenth century life, conducting a scandalous series of affairs and visits to Manhattan brothels, which cost him his marriage to Elizabeth Blanchard Hamblin (1799-1849) and made him the brunt of moralist, religious and journalistic crusades, notably that of James Gordon Bennett’s New York Herald. His machinations and perseverance through trying challenges, including several destructions of the Bowery Theatre by fire, extensive financial and legal complications, and the untimely deaths of several young protégées, earned him equal measures of admiration and opprobrium.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Independent Scholar, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Thomas A. Bogar

About the author

Thomas A. Bogar taught theatre history, dramatic literature, and theatrical production for forty years. He holds a Ph.D. in theatre history, literature and criticism from Louisiana State University, USA. He is the author of Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination, American Presidents Attend the Theatre and a biography of actor-manager John E. Owens. He is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, and served as a judge for Washington’s Helen Hayes Theatre Awards. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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