SOURCE: Collins, Margo. “Centlivre v. Hardwicke: Susannah Centlivre's Plays and the Marriage Act of 1753.” Comparative Drama 33, no. 2 (summer 1999): 179-98.

In the following essay, Collins discusses the relationship between the Marriage Act of 1753 and the popularity of Centlivre's plays. According to Collins, the act, which attempted to prevent clandestine unions by emphasizing the written registration of a marriage, both responded to and raised questions about the power of women's guardians and the efficacy of language—issues that dovetailed with the marriage plots of Centlivre's Busie Body and A Bold Stroke for a Wife.

The years between 1700 and 1800 saw Susannah Centlivre's plays performed 1,227 times in London theaters. Two plays, The Busie Body and A Bold Stroke for a Wife, accounted for 822 of these performances.¹ The Busie Body was an immediate hit upon opening at the Drury Lane Theatre on 12 May 1709. After eighteen performances in its first season, it averaged more...