Agnes de Vere, or The Wife’s Revenge

Agnes de Vere, or The Wife’s Revenge, is a drama in three acts by John Baldwin Buckstone (1802-1879).

The play is referred to as Agnes de Vere, or The Broken Heart, Agnes de Vere, or A Wife’s Revenge,  or simply Agnes de Vere by some authors, but the published versions all have the given title above.

The original text
According tot the Remarks published in the W. V. Spencer edition (1855), the play was an adaptation from an unknown French play, and was first performed at the Adelphi Theatre, London on 10 November, 1834 with the title Agnes de Vere, or The Broken Heart, the author playing "Oliver Dobbs". It became very popular in the USA, being performed in New York, Philadelphia and Boston from 1845 onwards, and in the British colonies (e.g. Australia and South Africa).

Published in Dick's series of play texts (as No 805) in 1836?, in Boston by W. V. Spencer, 1855 (No XXIII) and in New York by Samuel French in the same year, then again by Lacy (Volume cvi) in 1876.

Performance history in South Africa
1859: Performed as Agnes de Vere, or A Wife’s Revenge by Sefton Parry in the Harrington Street Theatre on 5 December. Billed as "a pathetic drama in Three Acts", with a Spanish dance as interlude and The Happy Man, or the Legend of - (Lover), a one act burlesque act.

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