This is the biography of Thomas Abthorpe Cooper, the first star of the American stage. Cooper was the chief transitional figure between the British and American stage and contributed greatly to the development of American theatre. For the 30 years after 1797, Cooper performed in the major cities and toured to every state in the Union. This work covers his entire life and career from his birth outside London in 1775, to his famed performance to celebrate the opening of the City of Washington in 1800, to his death in Bristol, Pennsylvania, in 1849. Much research is drawn from Mr. Cooper's letters to his mentor, English radical philosopher William Godwin. Throughout, there are descriptions of his principal portrayals at different stages drawn from contemporary accounts and theatrical reviews. There are also 22 illustrations, from paintings and engravings to playbills and photographs of the sites associated with the actor.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments      List of Illustrations      xiii Preface      Introduction      Part The Rise to Fame, 1775–1803 1. “This Wild Immeasurably Spread”—1800      2. British-Born—1775–88      3. “Aut Caesar aut Nihil”—1788–92      4. “The Die Is Cast”—1792–93      5. “My Fortune Smiles”      An Irish Benefit—1793      “Wretched Set of Mummers—1794      6. “A Young Gentleman”      Mr. Holcroft—1795      First Appearance—1795–96      7. The Wheel of Fortune—1796–98      8. The New House      The Park Debu—1798      André—1799      New Successes—1799      9. “Fame Is My Deity”      New York City—1799–1800      Philadelphia—1800–01      10. Rising Returns—1801–03      Part The American Star, 1803–1849 11. An American Indeed      Drury Lane—1803      The Provinces—1803–04      12. The United States’ Star      New York and Philadelphia—1804-05      Boston—1805–06      The South—1806–07      13. Yankee Ingenuity      Itinerant Star—1807–10      “This Glorious Son of York”—1810      “A Hearty Welcome”—1811–12      14. The American Roscius—1812–19      15. A Rival      A New Vogue—1819–20      “A Triumph to Cooper”—1820–21      16. A New Venue—1820–25      17. Turning Tide      An American Tragedian—1825–28      Success and Sorrow—1828–33      18. “The Father of the American Stage”—1833–36      Epilogue 1835–49      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index