As described by the press office of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, "Set in 1780s London, The Belle's Stratagem is the tale of Letitia Hardy, promised to the charming Doricourt whom she hasn't seen since childhood.

The role of the ingenue heroine, Letitia Hardy, proved to be a successful vehicle in Paris for Harriet Smithson, who infatuated Hector Berlioz.

Cowley's interest in playwriting was allegedly sparked by a “dull night out at the theatre”; she decided she could write a better play than the one she had just watched, so shortly after, she wrote The Runaway.

The Belle's Stratagem still remains Hannah Cowley's most popular play to date, and is very "before her time" in writing strong and intelligent female characters.

To break up this social narrative, Cowley creates female characters who are sharp and witty, women who know what they want and are determined to get it.

The original London cast featured William Thomas Lewis as Doricourt, John Quick as Hardy, Charles Lee Lewes as Flutter, Richard Wroughton as Sir George Touchwood, Francis Aickin as Saville, John Whitfield as Villers, Thomas Robson as Courtall, James Thompson as First Gentleman, Ralph Wewitzer as French Servant, James Fearon as Porter, Elizabeth Younge as Letitia Hardy, Isabella Mattocks as Mrs Racket, Elizabeth Hartley as Lady Frances Touchwood and Mary Morton as Miss Ogle.

Despite immense popularity in its time, The Belle's Stratagem was withdrawn by Richard Brinsley Sheridan when he took over management of Drury Lane from Garrick.

[9] Although presented a number of times during the 19th century in both England and the United States,[3] it was rarely performed by major theaters throughout recent history.

Tony Cownie's adaptation, which re-sets the play in Enlightenment Edinburgh during the development of the city's New Town, was staged by the Lyceum Theatre Company in February 2018.