"This sumptuously illustrated book provides a series of carefully researched case studies on the uses of history in late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century theatre. Michael Burden's excellent introduction indicates how a move towards factual accuracy and realism, both in the historical material used and in the visual representations of the past, through scenery and costume, was often spurious and the productions linked as much to contemporary issues and political agendas as to historical authenticity. This is very much a key theme of several of the essays, whether exploring the relevance of plays about Hofer 'the Tell of the Tyrol' to the Chartist movement or Columbus's discovery of America (here represented, somewhat anachronistically, by Peru) to the French Revolution. The Saratoga Campaign, the Siege of Gibraltar and the death of Captain Cook are all the subjects of essays examining historical events reworked as ballets, operas and melodramas. As well as a strong emphasis on context, contributors draw on pictorial evidence--paintings, prints, political satires, scene designs, music covers and playbills--and on the use of music and songs, in order to investigate the theatrical impact of their chosen topics. The memorialisation of Sir Walter Scott through theatricality and spectacle and attempts to capture the vocal delivery of John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons in Shakespeare are among other subjects touched on in the book. Organised into sections which focus on the theatrical creation of British history on stage, the representation of national politics and identity, and the mediation of empire, the exotic and exploration, all the essays are of a very high standard, offering new and original insights. This volume makes a significant and accessible contribution to our understanding of the way theatre used history in the period covered.

Beautifully presented, it will appeal both to scholars and to the general reader."  .