Vortigern and Rowena - History

History

Ireland had produced several earlier documents he claimed represented the writings of Shakespeare, but Vortigern and Rowena was the first play he attempted. He shortly followed it with a forged Henry II. He had announced his "discovery" of the lost play as early as December 26, 1794, but did not show his father a manuscript until March 1795. He also provided a purported correspondence between Shakespeare and a printer explaining why the play was unpublished, as well as a deed accounting for how it came to be in hands of the Irelands. According to the deed, Shakespeare had willed all the manuscripts to an ancestor of the Irelands, also named William Henry Ireland, who had saved him from drowning. Years later, Ireland explained that he came up with this story to establish his right to the manuscripts in case a descendant of the bard might claim them.

Hearing of a newly recovered "lost" Shakespeare play, Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan purchased the rights to the first production at Drury Lane Theatre in London for 300 pounds and the promise of half the revenues to Ireland's family. After reading the play, Sheridan noted its relative simplicity compared to Shakespeare's known works. Actor John Philip Kemble, the manager of Drury Lane, and who would play the title role in the play's only production, had serious doubts about Vortigern's authenticity. Sarah Siddons, who had been cast as the title female role, dropped out one week before the scheduled opening for unknown reasons, though it is suspected that Kemble had successfully turned the famous actress against the work as well. Irish Shakespearean scholar Edmond Malone published An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments on March 21, 1796, about the authenticity of Vortigern and the other documents "discovered" by Ireland. The play did have its supporters; Henry James Pye and James Bland Burgess wrote prologues for it, while Robert Merry wrote an epilogue.

When Vortigern and Rowena opened on April 2, 1796, Kemble used the chance to hint at his opinion by repeating Vortigern's line "and when this solemn mockery is o'er," and the play was derided by the audience. It was never performed again. Some early critics accused William Henry Ireland's father Samuel of the forgery, though William assumed responsibility in two printed confessions. Samuel himself continued to regard the play as authentic and edited it in 1799, including a foreword in which he attacked Malone's findings and denounced the "illiberal and injurious treatment" he had received. Nevertheless, neither Ireland's reputation recovered from the fiasco, and William eventually moved to France, where he lived for several decades. He tried to publish Vortigern and Rowena as his own work when he returned to England in 1832, but met with little success.