Phryne

“Phryne, or The Romance of a Young Wife,” was first staged on 12 September 1887 in San Francisco, where it failed, and did no better in Boston that October. The play revolved around a marital quarrel that sets off a chain of unfortunate events, and was dedicated to his new wife, Louise Thorndyke Boucicault. The couple had married in September of 1885 under dubious circumstances. Though Boucicault was technically still married to his first wife, Agnes, he proceeded to marry Louise, and was summarily shunned in social circles by both those who did and did not know him.

Though he continued to create and stage plays, Boucicault sought to avoid the public’s voyeuristic fascination toward his new marriage, and employed actors to play parts intended for him and Louise. It seems as if one of the play’s main character, Phryne, whose excessive adoration for her husband is central to the plot, is echoed in his thoughts about Louise. He told his friend, Albert Palmer, that “the only true, disinterested love that has come into my life I have found since I married Louise Thorndyke.”

The prompt book digitized here is a truly unique item, as this play is not found elsewhere.