The Adulateur: A Tragedy, as it is Now Acted in Upper Servia

by Mercy Otis Warren

Mercy Otis Warren (1728-1814) was an American writer and playwright. She was known as the "Conscience of the American Revolution." She was America's first female playwright, having written anti-British and anti-Loyalist propaganda plays from 1772 to 1775, and was the first woman to create a Jeffersonian interpretation of the Revolution, entitled History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution (1805). Warren formed a strong circle of friends with whom she regularly corresponded, including Abigail Adams, Martha Washington and Hannah Winthrop. Through their correspondence they increased the awareness of women's issues. Since Warren knew most of the leaders of the Revolution personally, she was continually at or near the center of events from 1765 to 1789. She combined her vantage point with a talent for writing to become both a poet and a historian of the Revolutionary era. All Mercy Otis Warren's work was published anonymously until 1790.

She wrote several plays, including the satiric "The Adulateur: A Tragedy, as it is Now Acted in Upper Servia" (1772), in which she criticized the British colonial governor’s policies a full four years before Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Genres: Plays

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1772

About the author

1728-1814

Reviews

[Maya Chhabra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting, thinly-veiled take on the Boston Massacre and the subsequent acquittal of the soldiers, somewhat over the top. I kept waiting for Our Heroes to stop talking and ACT, which was part of the point she was making, I think--that Americans should rise up and act against the British. Somewhat disconcerting to see the constant references to metaphorical "slavery" with no reference to the actual slavery of the time, but that's typical for American 18th c lit and fits with the pseudo-Roman setting. The names of the villains are pretty funny--Gripeall was my favorite.

It's not great literature, but it is great propaganda for a cause, and with some humor too.

[aves · Rating 2 out of 5]

take a shot for every repetitive brutus monologue