The Lady of Lyons

Lady of Lyons, The (1838). This romantic drama by Bulwer‐Lytton centers on Pauline Deschapelles, who is tricked by her rejected suitor, the Marquis Beauséant, into marrying Claude Melnotte, her gardener's son. Beauséant had persuaded Melnotte to pose as a foreign prince, but when, after the marriage, Melnotte takes Pauline to the home of his widowed mother, she learns the truth. The remorseful Melnotte joins the army and the marriage is annulled. Beauséant induces Pauline to marry him to save her father from bankruptcy. However, Melnotte returns from the wars as a hero and Pauline realizes that she truly loves him. The original American cast at New York's Park Theatre in 1838 included Mrs. Richardson as Pauline, Edwin Forrest as Melnotte, and Peter Richings as Beauséant. No less than Charlotte Cushman was the Widow Melnotte. The work remained one of the most popular of all plays for the rest of the century. The list of important performers who acted in the play would include virtually every major serious actor and actress of the period.