Haddon Hall - in Literature and The Arts

In Literature and The Arts

The hall has figured prominently in a number of literary and stage works, including the following, all of which describe the Vernon/Manners elopement:

• A story entitled King of the Peak – A Derbyshire Tale, written by Allan Cunningham, was published in the London Magazine in 1822.
• An 1823 novel, The King of the Peak – A Romance, in three volumes, was written by William Bennett (1796–1879), writing under the pseudonym Lee Gibbons.
• "The Love Steps of Dorothy Vernon", a short story by Eliza Meteyard (1816–1879), writing under a pseudonym in 1849, was the first full-blown version of the legend. It was first published in the December 29, 1849 issue of Eliza Cook's Journal and then in The Reliquary, October 1860, p. 79.
• A light opera, called Haddon Hall, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Sydney Grundy, premiered in London in 1892.
• A novel called Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall was written in 1902 by American Charles Major and became a best seller.
• A play of the same name, based on Major's novel, was written by American playwright Paul Kester. It debuted on Broadway in 1903.
• Fred Terry and his wife Julia Neilson adapted that play for London, calling it Dorothy o' the Hall, where it played in 1906.
• A 1924 film, starring Mary Pickford, was adapted by American screenwriter Waldemar Young (grandson of Brigham Young) from the Major novel.
• The Hall features in Philip Hensher's 2008 novel, The Northern Clemency

Frederick Booty, the English watercolourist, painted Haddon Hall several times, including pictures of the peacocks in the gardens.