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Bible Encyclopedias
Isaac Bickerstaffe
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
ISAAC BICKERSTAFFE ( c. 1 735 - c. 1812), English dramatist, was born in Ireland about 1735. At the age of eleven he was appointed a page to Lord Chesterfield, then lord lieutenant of Ireland, and subsequently held a commission in the Marines, but was dismissed the service under discreditable circumstances. He was the author of a large number of plays and burlesque farces interspersed with songs, produced between 1760 and 1771. The best-known are Maid of the Mill (founded on Richardson's Pamela), The Padlock, He Would if he Could, Love in a Village, The Hypocrite and The Captive. In 1772 Bickerstaffe, suspected of a capital offence, fled to the continent. The exact date of his death is unknown, but he is stated to have been still living in abject misery in 1812.
A full account of his dramatic productions is given in Biographia Dramatica, edited by Stephen Jones (1812).
These files are public domain.
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Isaac Bickerstaffe'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​bri/​i/isaac-bickerstaffe.html. 1910.