author
John Maddison Morton
1811–1891
Best known for the enduring farce Box and Cox, this prolific Victorian dramatist helped shape the quick, lively comedy that delighted 19th-century theater audiences. He wrote a remarkable number of stage pieces, especially one-act farces packed with timing, confusion, and wit.
7 Audiobooks
Comediettas and Farces
by John Maddison Morton
Drawing Rooms, Second Floor, and Attics: A Farce, in One Act
by John Maddison Morton
A Desperate Game: A Comic Drama in One Act
by John Maddison Morton
Betsy Baker! or, Too Attentive by Half; A Farce, in One Act
by John Maddison Morton
Waiting for an Omnibus in the Lowther Arcade on a Rainy Day: A Farce, in One Act
by John Maddison Morton
Box and Cox: A Romance of Real Life in One Act.
by John Maddison Morton
Woodcock's Little Game: A Comedy-Farce, In Two Acts
by John Maddison Morton
About the author
Born in Pangbourne, Berkshire, on 3 January 1811, he was the son of the playwright Thomas Morton and grew up around the theatre world. He was educated partly in France and Germany, and that continental background later showed in his skill for adapting French material for English audiences.
He became one of the most successful English writers of farce in the Victorian period, producing a large body of comic stage works along with dramas and pantomimes. His best-known play, Box and Cox (1847), remained the standout success of his career and is still remembered as the work most closely associated with him.
Although his popularity faded later in life, his reputation as a master of brisk one-act comedy endured. He died on 19 December 1891, and today he is remembered chiefly for the energy, precision, and theatrical fun of his farces.