Little Nell and the Marchioness

Little Nell and the Marchioness (1867), a play by John Brougham. [Wallack's Theatre, 28 perf.] Nell ( Lotta Crabtree) and her Grandfather Trent ( T. J. Hind) are forced from the Old Curiosity Shop by the rapacious Quilp ( E. Coleman). They wander the country roads of England until the old man finds work at a small church. Eventually the grandfather's long‐lost rich brother returns to help him retrieve his shop, but by that time the wear and tear has been too much for Little Nell, who dies and is lifted bodily to heaven. In a second, interwoven story, Dick Swiveller ( J. C. Williamson) falls in love with the poor servant girl (also Crabtree) of Quilp's unscrupulous lawyer, Simon Brass ( W. J. Leonard). He names her “The Marchioness” and, after she nurses him through an illness, marries her. Based on Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop, the play was written as a vehicle for “Lotta.” It became the most popular piece in her repertory, and she played it as long as she performed. Neither her Nell nor her Marchioness was totally faithful to the original, but served as excuses for her banjo playing, her clog dances, and other turns. The show's short original run is in no way indicative of its popularity, since it was a limited engagement. T. Allston Brown noted, “Rarely in the history of New York theatricals has a summer engagement proved so profitable.” Receipts averaged a then exceptional $1,100 per night, the run was extended one week, and Lotta herself realized $10,000 from the stand.