Boucicault, Dion

Dion Boucicault ("b." 1820) was an Irish playwright and actor, known as much for his colourful life as his enduring dramas. Called 'the most conspicuous English dramatist of the 19th century' by the New York Times, he was a great favourite of Queen Victoria, who commissioned a portrait of him to hang at Windsor Castle. Boucicault lived on both sides of the Atlantic, becoming a theatrical innovator (championing matinees, and sensational on-stage spectacles) and, with 1895's "Octoroon", one of the first authors to depict the life of black people in the US. "London Assurance" is probably his best...