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The London Merchant
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published D. C. Heath & co. in 1906 in 318 pages; Drama / General; Drama / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; Literary Criticism / Drama;
52 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1731
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About the author
George Lillo
25 books6 followersGeorge Lillo (3 February 1691 – 4 September 1739)[1] was an English playwright and tragedian. He was a jeweller in London as well as a dramatist. He produced his first stage work, Silvia, or The Country Burial, in 1730. A year later, he produced his most famous play, The London Merchant. He wrote at least six more plays before his death in 1739, including The Christian Hero (1735), Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina (1738).[2]
Contents
Life
George Lillo was born in Moorfields, or Moorgate, in the City of London.[3] He became a partner in his father’s goldsmith-jewellery business.[2]
Early stage works
Lillo wrote at least eight plays between 1730 and his death in 1739. His first work in the theatre was the ballad opera Silvia, or The Country Burial in 1730. He wrote it in order to reproduce the success of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, but Lillo's play received mixed reviews and only showed for three nights at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in November 1730, and for a one-night revival at Covent Garden in March 1738, reduced to two acts.[3]
Contents page of Lillo's The Works of Mr. George Lillo with Some Account of His Life, 1775
The following year, Lillo wrote his most famous play, The London Merchant, or The History of George Barnwell (1731), which is considered one of the most popular and frequently produced plays of the 18th century.[3] In October 1831 it was presented by royal command in the presence of George II and Queen Caroline.[3] It was in the genre that came to be called melodrama.[4] In The London Merchant, the subject is an apprentice who struggles with his conscience. He makes an imprudent choice and repents of his vice to attain only the hand of a worthy girl.[5] Lillo redefined the subject of dramatic tragedy and demonstrated that middle and lower class citizens were worthy of tragic downfalls.[6][7] The 17th century ballad about a murder in Shropshire was the historical foundation for the play. Lillo dedicates the play to Sir John Eyles, a prominent member of the merchant class in London, in a letter before the text and plot begins. Lillo's domestic tragedy reflects a turning of the theatre away from the court and toward the town.[8] Dickens introduced "the affecting tragedy of George Barnwell" into his novel Great Expectations.[9]
Lillo revived the genre of play referred to as domestic tragedy (or bourgeois tragedy).[10] Even though the Jacobean stage had flirted with merchant and artisan plays in the past (with, for example, Thomas Dekker and Thomas Heywood), The London Merchant was a significant change in theatre, and in tragedy in particular.[6] Instead of dealing with heroes from classical literature or the Bible, presented with spectacle and grand stage effects, his subjects concerned everyday people, such as his audience, the theater-going middle classes, and his tragedies were conducted on the intimate scale of households, rather than kingdoms.[11][6][7]
Lillo was concerned that plays be morally correct and in keeping with Christian values.[12][13] His next play was The Christian Hero (1735), a retelling of the story of Skanderbeg.[3]
Later years
Later in the decade, Lillo wrote Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina (1738).[14] He based Marina on the play Pericles by William Shakespeare.[3] His next play was Elmerick, or Justice Triumphant in 1740, followed the same year by Britannia and Batavia.[14] Lillo adapted the anonymous Elizabethan play Arden of Feversham, which was posthumously performed, first in 1759. It was based on the life of Alice Arden.[14]
In his own day, his later plays, other than Merchant, were only moderate successes, and after his death old style tragedies and comedies continued to dominate the stage.[citation needed] All of Lillo's plays were produced in London, and only three of them produced any profit.
Lillo died at age 48, in 1739, in Rotherhithe, London.
Contents
Life
George Lillo was born in Moorfields, or Moorgate, in the City of London.[3] He became a partner in his father’s goldsmith-jewellery business.[2]
Early stage works
Lillo wrote at least eight plays between 1730 and his death in 1739. His first work in the theatre was the ballad opera Silvia, or The Country Burial in 1730. He wrote it in order to reproduce the success of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, but Lillo's play received mixed reviews and only showed for three nights at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in November 1730, and for a one-night revival at Covent Garden in March 1738, reduced to two acts.[3]
Contents page of Lillo's The Works of Mr. George Lillo with Some Account of His Life, 1775
The following year, Lillo wrote his most famous play, The London Merchant, or The History of George Barnwell (1731), which is considered one of the most popular and frequently produced plays of the 18th century.[3] In October 1831 it was presented by royal command in the presence of George II and Queen Caroline.[3] It was in the genre that came to be called melodrama.[4] In The London Merchant, the subject is an apprentice who struggles with his conscience. He makes an imprudent choice and repents of his vice to attain only the hand of a worthy girl.[5] Lillo redefined the subject of dramatic tragedy and demonstrated that middle and lower class citizens were worthy of tragic downfalls.[6][7] The 17th century ballad about a murder in Shropshire was the historical foundation for the play. Lillo dedicates the play to Sir John Eyles, a prominent member of the merchant class in London, in a letter before the text and plot begins. Lillo's domestic tragedy reflects a turning of the theatre away from the court and toward the town.[8] Dickens introduced "the affecting tragedy of George Barnwell" into his novel Great Expectations.[9]
Lillo revived the genre of play referred to as domestic tragedy (or bourgeois tragedy).[10] Even though the Jacobean stage had flirted with merchant and artisan plays in the past (with, for example, Thomas Dekker and Thomas Heywood), The London Merchant was a significant change in theatre, and in tragedy in particular.[6] Instead of dealing with heroes from classical literature or the Bible, presented with spectacle and grand stage effects, his subjects concerned everyday people, such as his audience, the theater-going middle classes, and his tragedies were conducted on the intimate scale of households, rather than kingdoms.[11][6][7]
Lillo was concerned that plays be morally correct and in keeping with Christian values.[12][13] His next play was The Christian Hero (1735), a retelling of the story of Skanderbeg.[3]
Later years
Later in the decade, Lillo wrote Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina (1738).[14] He based Marina on the play Pericles by William Shakespeare.[3] His next play was Elmerick, or Justice Triumphant in 1740, followed the same year by Britannia and Batavia.[14] Lillo adapted the anonymous Elizabethan play Arden of Feversham, which was posthumously performed, first in 1759. It was based on the life of Alice Arden.[14]
In his own day, his later plays, other than Merchant, were only moderate successes, and after his death old style tragedies and comedies continued to dominate the stage.[citation needed] All of Lillo's plays were produced in London, and only three of them produced any profit.
Lillo died at age 48, in 1739, in Rotherhithe, London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 6, 2018
If loving Sarah Millwood is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
November 25, 2012
I really liked this play, but it was mostly because I sympathized with Millwood which would not have been done in the eighteenth century. So basically, I liked it because I totally read it wrong. This happens to me a lot with 18th century lit.
"You wrote a kickass female character? Awesome! She's totally supposed to be evil?...Oh."
Anyway, it's a good time whether you're there for the morality play or for Millwood sassing it up.
"You wrote a kickass female character? Awesome! She's totally supposed to be evil?...Oh."
Anyway, it's a good time whether you're there for the morality play or for Millwood sassing it up.
January 21, 2014
if thou art cursed by providence to read this tale,
as I have had in grand olde yale,
I pity you touching this melodrama
which was probably written by a llama
You will experience five hours of snooze,
by the end, you will want some booze,
if you want to read this tale for fun,
far from you I want to run,
because this tale of a 'prentice 'ruind is really a bore,
I'll summarize it in four words: don't talk to whores,
Providence pray that you never have to do this chore.
as I have had in grand olde yale,
I pity you touching this melodrama
which was probably written by a llama
You will experience five hours of snooze,
by the end, you will want some booze,
if you want to read this tale for fun,
far from you I want to run,
because this tale of a 'prentice 'ruind is really a bore,
I'll summarize it in four words: don't talk to whores,
Providence pray that you never have to do this chore.
February 17, 2023
I support women’s rights, I support women’s wrongs, but most of all I support Millwood as the best part of this play.
February 4, 2015
Eh, this really just didn't do it for me. The basic plot is that the naive young guy meets a femme fatale who gets him to steal money for her and eventually kill his uncle. Maybe it would be great on stage, but I just wasn't into it, and things escalated SO quickly. I mean, Barnwell goes from "Sure, ok, I guess I'll sleep with you" to murder in such a short time. And the plot wasn't THAT interesting. It was a little predictable. But this was reasonably well written and held some of my attention. So probably 1.5 stars. I like happy endings and plays with hope and good role models and inspiration for us. Yeah, this wasn't really that type of play. Though it DOES have a big moral message. But I guess it's what you would call negative reinforcement, rather than positive.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2010
All the characters are so one-sided and ridiculous. Typical 18th Century play in that regard.
Read
March 5, 2024Read for Circulating Bodies course
October 20, 2015
En Tragedia moderna Raymond Williams menciona con un mismo aliento a Lessing y a Lillo como ejemplos de tragedia burguesa. Hay mucho chauvinismo en esa injusticia. En el sucedáneo de tragedia de Lillo no hay horizonte político – está tapado por las paredes de la casa y del taller. El maestro y patriarca virtuoso por un lado, la prostituta malévola por el otro. Una conformación paranoica. The London Merchant no tiene nada más que inhibiciones y acusaciones. Lessing, en cambio, lo suficientemente creativo para anticipar los valores hoy dominantes: respeto a la diversidad, diálogo, multiculturalismo, etc. mediante una reducción de Dios a su germen monetario. La razón por la que las currículas angloparlantes suelen justificar poner a Lillo junto a Lessing en una serie demente es por su inclusión de personajes de clases bajas – criados, aprendices, prostitutas. Una pésima decisión. En primer lugar, no fue el primero en hacerlo; en segundo lugar en su caso esa decisión está subordinada a una intención moralizante: el éxito de la obra se debió a haber sido impuesta en una fiesta anual para aprendices programada por sus maestros.
Se podría hablar de las condiciones de recepción de la obra para señalar que es una mierda, pero no hace falta. Sólo con leerla uno se da cuenta que es demasiado aburrida para ganarse por sus propios méritos cualquier público, no digamos ya uno popular. Los aprendices y las criadas preferían identificarse con nobles animados por pasiones humanas que con aprendices y criadas escritos con intenciones obvias y condescendientes. En un ensayo Graeber observaba que los pobres suelen hacer un trabajo de interpretación y empatía sobre los ricos y los poderosos que casi nunca es correspondido. Hay algo de eso en la tradición de la tragedia, donde los personajes suelen ser aristócratas o ciudadanos notables, pero todo género dramático depende de mecanismos más elementales. The London Merchant no logra apelar a ninguno de ellos. El resultado es un buen recordatorio de por qué la palabra "burgués" merece su carga peyorativa.
Se podría hablar de las condiciones de recepción de la obra para señalar que es una mierda, pero no hace falta. Sólo con leerla uno se da cuenta que es demasiado aburrida para ganarse por sus propios méritos cualquier público, no digamos ya uno popular. Los aprendices y las criadas preferían identificarse con nobles animados por pasiones humanas que con aprendices y criadas escritos con intenciones obvias y condescendientes. En un ensayo Graeber observaba que los pobres suelen hacer un trabajo de interpretación y empatía sobre los ricos y los poderosos que casi nunca es correspondido. Hay algo de eso en la tradición de la tragedia, donde los personajes suelen ser aristócratas o ciudadanos notables, pero todo género dramático depende de mecanismos más elementales. The London Merchant no logra apelar a ninguno de ellos. El resultado es un buen recordatorio de por qué la palabra "burgués" merece su carga peyorativa.
March 4, 2015
"The London Merchant: or the History of George Barnwell" is a 1731 play by George Lillo (pronounced LIH-low). Charles Lamb called it a "nauseous sermon," and I agree--though it was extremely popular in its day. Richardson singles it out as the only "moral" play of its time in his "Apprentice's Vade Mecum," and Cibber speaks highly of it, too. It's basically a sixth-rate, melodramatic exercise in bourgeois didacticism, but important for its time: no other playwright had since featured a middling merchant as the dramatic focal point of a play. It's interesting as a historical document... but its mawkish drivel from a literary perspective. I can't believe Dickens and Thackeray actually respected this...
August 17, 2012
A seventeenth-century play -- a good, young man who is led astray by an unscrupulous, conniving woman. A seventeenth-century "soap opera" moralistic tale -- alternating between humor and moralizing. Characters are flat, action lackluster, and only moderate suspense.
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I read this because it was one of the earliest plays that George Washington attended while in Barbados with his brother, Lawrence.
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I read this because it was one of the earliest plays that George Washington attended while in Barbados with his brother, Lawrence.
June 8, 2016
Probably my favorite thing I read this past semester. Milwood is my girl, fight the patriarchy!
April 20, 2025
Someone said, "All the characters were so one sided and ridiculous." Which is 👌🏻
The heart of the story lies in the call to use our brains. Sarah emerges as a brilliant yet morally complex character; her so-called "evilness" struck me as anything but. Instead, her actions are grounded in a fierce logic that resonates deeply with the struggles of both her time and our own. In a world that often feels dog-eat-dog, she seizes every opportunity, learning to navigate relationships with a shrewdness that protects her from being exploited—much like what happened to George.
However, it’s at the end where I find myself at odds with her perspective. Sarah’s anger at the world for its unfairness feels like a weight she carries unnecessarily. After all, we’re all bound for the same fate, so why let anger consume us? Life operates on its own absurd terms, and when we accept that reality, we can begin to unlock a sense of peace.
If we embrace the ridiculousness of existence and start to think critically, we can transform our experiences. It’s in this acceptance, coupled with a strategic mindset, that we find the key to living not just with resilience, but with a deeper sense of fulfillment.
The heart of the story lies in the call to use our brains. Sarah emerges as a brilliant yet morally complex character; her so-called "evilness" struck me as anything but. Instead, her actions are grounded in a fierce logic that resonates deeply with the struggles of both her time and our own. In a world that often feels dog-eat-dog, she seizes every opportunity, learning to navigate relationships with a shrewdness that protects her from being exploited—much like what happened to George.
However, it’s at the end where I find myself at odds with her perspective. Sarah’s anger at the world for its unfairness feels like a weight she carries unnecessarily. After all, we’re all bound for the same fate, so why let anger consume us? Life operates on its own absurd terms, and when we accept that reality, we can begin to unlock a sense of peace.
If we embrace the ridiculousness of existence and start to think critically, we can transform our experiences. It’s in this acceptance, coupled with a strategic mindset, that we find the key to living not just with resilience, but with a deeper sense of fulfillment.
February 25, 2020
PROS:
1. I like that the play emphasizes the consequences of Barnwell's mistakes by showing his imprisonment and execution.
2. The best part of the play, by far, is Millwood's monologue before her arrest, in which she protests that she is only evil because the world has made her evil. Skip to that.
CONS:
1. Aside from Barnwell and Millwood, the characters are all one-dimensional.
2. None of the important questions that this play might make you think about - "Can murderers find redemption? Is it wrong to kill or rob in the pursuit of love?" - turn out to be very important. Yes, murderers can find redemption, apparently, by telling God they're sorry. The right God, that is. Wouldn't this imply that a murderer who apologizes before (the Anglican) God is more righteous than a Muslim or Hindu man who never killed anyone? Only one of them is going to heaven, after all.
3. The ultimate moral of the play seems to be, "Don't trust a prostitute." I ought to get more out of theater-going than I can get out of a 3OH!3 song.
1. I like that the play emphasizes the consequences of Barnwell's mistakes by showing his imprisonment and execution.
2. The best part of the play, by far, is Millwood's monologue before her arrest, in which she protests that she is only evil because the world has made her evil. Skip to that.
CONS:
1. Aside from Barnwell and Millwood, the characters are all one-dimensional.
2. None of the important questions that this play might make you think about - "Can murderers find redemption? Is it wrong to kill or rob in the pursuit of love?" - turn out to be very important. Yes, murderers can find redemption, apparently, by telling God they're sorry. The right God, that is. Wouldn't this imply that a murderer who apologizes before (the Anglican) God is more righteous than a Muslim or Hindu man who never killed anyone? Only one of them is going to heaven, after all.
3. The ultimate moral of the play seems to be, "Don't trust a prostitute." I ought to get more out of theater-going than I can get out of a 3OH!3 song.
February 24, 2019
I just thought all of the characters were interested, Millwood was kinda bad ass in the beginning but then when she asked him to murder his uncle I was like "uh how about no". Pretty sure Trueman and Barnwall were bisexual, at the very least. Maria deserved better. The religious part honestly kind of made the play funny, and I feel like most of it didn't read as a tragedy.
I would suggest this play if: the idea of a Christianized Harry Potter series amuses you; you would like to read a play where the main guy has Romeo & Juliet syndrome; you think that servants should have a bigger role in pieces than the normally do. Also, highly recommend if The Merchant of Venice is your favorite Shakespeare play!
I would suggest this play if: the idea of a Christianized Harry Potter series amuses you; you would like to read a play where the main guy has Romeo & Juliet syndrome; you think that servants should have a bigger role in pieces than the normally do. Also, highly recommend if The Merchant of Venice is your favorite Shakespeare play!
October 31, 2018
Lucy is so funny! And Millwood is surprisingly persuasive!
June 13, 2019
Clear indications of the economic function of prostitution for women and it's implications on the moral and religious soul of men.
October 26, 2020
sarah millwood deserved the world
December 7, 2020
I can’t believe merchants took their servants to see this play
Read
January 27, 2022Read for theater history. No review.
July 22, 2022
This story is a warning to men: think with your brain instead of your... uh... other brain.
November 1, 2022
Blindness of Love
November 14, 2022
Read this collection for a lit. class.
December 7, 2023
Best play we read this semester! Millwood ate down
Read
March 13, 20241731
January 29, 2025
long story and i kinda felt bad for barnwell but i also wanted to root for millwood so bad lowkey.
Read
October 3, 2025the female character Lillo wrote to be evil is like … the only one anyone should sympathize with. Millwood 4 president
February 19, 2017
I really enjoyed this play. There will definitely be lots to discuss in class next week. Most obviously, it's interesting that this tale is not really about the merchant at all, except to show his goodness. I wonder if Lillo was making a political statement regarding the necessities of exchange in this time period. People viewed it and what the marketplace did to society differently. Lillo seems to believe merchants were important and of the highest quality of mankind. I am looking forward to class discussion on this work.
February 14, 2017
Fascinated by Millwood, and women characters so disempowered that they do awful things in search of some sort of power, even if it's destructive.
March 16, 2016
Such a torment to bear without a support of a theatrical performance perhaps, as the play tries to dramatise itself while you are reading it. Such an effort against that pretentious style of Mr. Lillo, such an effort and persecution as the end of the play itself suggests and visualises; speaking of which, probably without the writer's own realization, Millwood's stance is much more reliable, exact and authentic than Barnwell's at the end.
November 21, 2015
The prose is quite difficult to decipher and like a lot of plays from this period the wailing and the emoting is built for the staring actors that created the roles. It is one of those plays that is of its time and should stay there. The Hero who is quite reprehensible bares many similarities to MacHeath.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews