Digitisation of Lacy's Acting Edition of Victorian Plays

Lacy's Acting Edition of Plays was published by Thomas Hailes Lacy at his Covent Garden printing house from the 1840s onwards: Lacy’s modern plays were bound into volumes, and a complete run exists in the collections of the Birmingham Central Reference Library. Phase Two of this project aimed to provide a number of e-texts of important plays and examples of genres from the collection. Lacy's Acting Edition was intended to preserve and supply texts of popular productions for future London productions, provincial and minor theatre companies and private theatricals. Its real interest is in its publication of contemporary plays, releasing them shortly after their initial performances on the London stages. Each volume of Lacy's Plays allows us to glimpse the London theatrical world on a year-by-year basis, and together they form a detailed collection of the contemporary drama enjoyed by the Victorians. Victorian drama is a much under-studied and little known area of Victorian Literature and this project aims to extend awareness to scholars of such a valuable and rich resource located in the Midlands, and thus further stimulate research into Victorian plays. This catalogue provides a volume-by-volume listing of contents, enabling a chronological overview of the Victorian theatre.