George Lillo

George Lillo 1693-1739, English dramatist. The son of a prosperous jeweller, he was for many years his father's partner in the trade. He is chiefly remembered as the author of The London Merchant; or, The History of George Barnwell (1731), the first prose domestic tragedy in English. Though the play was popular in England throughout the 18th cent., its influence was more strongly felt on the Continent, particularly in the domestic drama of Diderot and Lessing. The only other notable play by Lillo was The Fatal Curiosity (1736).

Lillo, George (1693–1739), was the author of the famous prose domestic tragedy The London Merchant, or The History of George Barnwell, produced in 1731. His other plays include The Christian Hero (produced 1735), and The Fatal Curiosity (1736). Lillo's introduction of middle-class domestic tragedy had an influence which extended beyond English literature, notably to G. E. Lessing and Diderot.

Lillo, George (1693–1739), English dramatist, best remembered for his play The London Merchant; or, The History of George Barnwell (1731). Based on an old ballad, it tells how a good young man's passion for a bad woman leads him to murder his old uncle for money, the murderer and his accomplice being subsequently hanged. It was immensely successful and was frequently revived, notably by Mrs Siddons. It was known well enough to be the butt of several burlesques, and was also the play performed by the Crummles family in When Crummles Played (1927), based by Nigel Play-fair on Dickens's novel Nicholas Nickleby. It had a great vogue on the Continent where it influenced the development of domestic tragedy, particularly in Germany. Lillo wrote several other plays, of which the most important was Guilt Its Own Punishment; or, Fatal Curiosity (1736), also based on an old ballad about a murder done in Cornwall. First produced at the Haymarket Theatre by Henry Fielding, it was chosen by Mrs Siddons for her benefit in 1797, her brothers Charles and John Philip Kemble appearing with her. This play also had a great influence on the German fate drama, inspiring Werner's Der 24 Februar (1810). Lillo also wrote a version of the anonymous Arden of Feversham, produced in 1759.