Cleone (play)

Cleone is a 1758 tragedy by the British writer Robert Dodsley.

Cleone
Illustration from published version of play.
Written by	Robert Dodsley
Date premiered	2 December 1758
Place premiered	Covent Garden Theatre, London
Original language	English
Genre	Tragedy

The original Covent Garden cast included David Ross as Silfroy, Luke Sparks as Glanville, Isaac Ridout as Beaufort senior and George Anne Bellamy as Cleone.

Plot summary

The plot concerns a woman named Cleone, whose brother in law, Granville, attempts to convince her husband that she is unfaithful. Granville plots to have his servant kill Cleone so Granville can frame his own brother, Sifroy for the murder; Granville plans to have it believed that Sifroy has murdered Cleone in a jealous rage. Granville carries out this scheme under the pretext that he is avenging himself against Sifroy for stealing his fortune, but in reality, Granville is motivated by his jealousy of Cleone, who has rebuffed his advances towards her. Granville's servant accidentally murders Cleone's child instead of his intended target. Granville and his servant are found out and arrested by the police. Despite the attempts of her father, brother, and husband to rehabilitate her, an aggrieved Cleone dies of madness.

Inspiration

Dodsley writes in the preface to Cleone that he has loosely based his play on the legend of Saint Genevieve- although Dodsley may have confused the saint with Genevieve of Brabant; there are no legends indicating that Saint Genevieve was married or accused of adultery, while according to The Golden Legend, the innocent Genevieve of Brabant was framed for adultery. Dodsley indicates that Alexander Pope encouraged him to write a play adapted from this story.

Bibliography

• Nicoll, Allardyce. A History of English Drama 1660–1900: Volume III. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• Hogan, C.B (ed.) The London Stage, 1660–1800: Volume V. Southern Illinois University Press, 1968.
• Dodsley, Robert Cleone a Tragedy as it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal at Covent Garden, the Fourth Edition. Printed for J. Dodsley at Pall Mall, 1771