the experience of reading in Britain, from 1450 to 1945...

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Joseph Simpson : Patriot, The

'He [Joseph Simpson] wrote a tragedy on the story of Leonidas, entitled "The Patriot". He read it to a company of lawyers, who found so many faults, that he wrote it over again: so then there were two tragedies on the same subject and with the same title. Dr. Johnson told us, that one of them was still in his possession. This very piece was, after his death, published by some person who had been about him, and, for the sake of a little hasty profit, was fallaciously advertised, so as to make it be believed to have been written by Johnson himself'.

Century: 1700-1799     Reader/Listener/Group: Joseph Simpson      Manuscript: Unknown

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