George Colman's The Suicide, A Comedy (1778): A Tale of Two Manuscripts

George Colman’s The Suicide, A Comedy (1778) was one of the most popular new comedies of its day, and despite its controversial combination of subject and mode, it was widely received as a satiric antidote to what was perceived as a national (and fashionable) suicide epidemic. The play was never published, and serious critical assessment of the play remains scarce. This essay establishes a new history of the play from an examination of the play’s two known extant copies: the Larpent manuscript held at the Huntington Library and a prompter’s copy at McGill University, critically studied for the first time. Together, they enable the construction of an intimate history, providing new insights about the play’s licensing, its real-life satirical objects, casting, planning, and its status as an enduring Haymarket favorite.