The Surprising Success of C. R. Maturin’s Bertram: A Collaboration with Scott, Byron, Kean, and Murray

Abstract

abstract:Though the Romantics celebrated the idea of the author as an individual genius, the great success of Bertram in the London theatrical world of the 1810s was due to a collaborative effort. This study examines the collaborators’ roles in this success: writers Scott and Byron, who saw the potential in Bertram; actor Kean, who realized the role of Bertram; and publisher Murray, who saw the potential for the play’s success in print. All of them together made the success of Bertram possible.