author
Charles Macklin
d. 1797
A fiery Irish actor-playwright who helped push 18th-century theatre toward a more natural style, he became especially famous for his powerful Shylock. His long, turbulent career stretched across much of the century and left a lasting mark on the stage.
4 Audiobooks
The Covent Garden Theatre, or Pasquin Turn'd Drawcansir
by Charles Macklin
The Man of the World (1792)
by Charles Macklin
A Will and No Will; or, A Bone for the Lawyers. (1746) The New Play Criticiz'd, or the Plague of Envy. (1747)
by Charles Macklin
The true-born Irishman : or, Irish fine lady : a comedy of two acts
by Charles Macklin
About the author
Born in Ireland and later known onstage as Charles Macklin, he built a remarkable career in London theatre and performed extensively at Drury Lane. Sources agree that he was celebrated not just for longevity but for changing the feel of acting in his time, moving away from a more formal, declamatory style toward something audiences found sharper and more lifelike.
He was also a dramatist, and his best-known plays include Love à la Mode and The Man of the World. Contemporary and later reference works describe him as gifted, combative, and controversial—someone whose life in the theatre was as dramatic as many of the roles he played.
Macklin died on July 11, 1797, in London. Even where sources differ on his exact birth year, they agree on the scale of his career: he remained one of the standout stage figures of the 18th century, remembered for both his acting and his writing.