Le Portefeuille Rouge

Le Portefeuille Rouge is a drama in five acts by Marc Fournier (1818-1879)[] and Henri Horace Meyer (1839-)[].

The original French text was first published in Paris by Michel Lévy frères in 1862.

It became the source for a 3 volume novel called Foul Play by Charles Reade and Dion Boucicault, which appeared in instalments in the literary magazine Once a Week, from January to June 1868, with illustrations by George du Maurier, and was first published in 1868 by Bradbury, Evans and Co., London, and Ticknor and Fields, Boston, in the same year.

In 1868 Boucicault adapted the novel for the stage as an English text called Foul Play (though ascribed to both Dion Boucicault and Charles Reade), which was first performed at the New Holborn Theater, London, under the management of Miss Fanny Josephs on 28 May 1868 for not too successful run. This text was also published in London by Bradbury, Evans and Co. in 1868.Published in and by The Dramatic Publishing Company, Chicago as no 368 of Sergel's Acting Drama.

In 1876 Charles Reade undertook his own adaptation of their novel, now called The Scuttled Ship (or A Scuttled Ship), first performed on 2 April 1877 at the Olympic Theatre, London, where it was a critical failure.

The original French play was also adapted for the use of young people by J. G. W. McGown and published in a new version by Beauchemin, Montréal in the 1890s.

Facsimile version of the McGown version, Hathi Trust Digital Library[1]