Enlightenment

Henry Fielding, Pasquin (1736)

Although now remembered as a novelist, Henry Fielding (1707-54) was the most popular playwright of the 1730s, when he produced a number of dramas featuring libertine characters and situations. His play within a play, Pasquin (1736) attacked Robert Walpole and his supporters thereby helping to trigger the Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737. This act of censorship gave the Lord Chamberlain power to approve any play before it was staged. It exerted a profound influence on the course of English literature as authors transferred their attentions to other literary genres, in particular the novel.

Fielding (Henry), Pasquin. In Three Plays. 8vo. London, 1736-1737.
[P.100(12,13.)]
Former owner: David Hughes (1727-77)