Author: Horton, Thomas
Biography:
HORTON, Thomas (fl 1818-30)
The only reliable information about him is to be extracted from his publications, which were printed—some of them by subscription--at various towns and cities in Wales and northwest England. Several title-pages identify him as a “comedian,” i.e. actor. He evidently performed with a provincial travelling company in that area. Subscription lists are local and seem to consist mainly of gentry, members of the professions, and similarly respectable classes. Dedications often express gratitude for the hospitality of ladies and gentlemen in the neighbourhood. The work of 1818, well subscribed for, takes up the case of a local woman, Mary Morgan, who at the age of 17 was executed for the murder of her illegitimate child: it presents itself as a lesson for similarly vulnerable young women. A prose play of 1828, Nell Gwynne, dedicated to the owner of Stoke Edith Park in Herefordshire, likewise treats a fallen woman with sympathy; Horton describes it as his “third dramatic attempt,” but the two earlier plays, if they existed, may not have been published. No publications have been found after 1830 and it seems likely that he either died or gave up the stage and writing at that point. In the absence of other clues, his name is too common to provide further details.
Other Names:
- T. Horton