Margaret Fleming (play)

It first ran in Lynn, Massachusetts, in July 1890, but was rejected as too controversial by theater managers in New York and Boston.

Two friends and financiers of Herne's rented a theater in Boston for its opening, and the play had two three-week runs, one in May and one in October 1891.

Although some critics liked the attempt towards realism, many others felt the play dwelt too much on unseemly characters and events, and audiences were shocked when Margaret nurses the baby (not her own) onstage.

In Act I, the audience meets Philip Fleming, manager of an inherited mill that's facing some financial troubles.

He speaks with Joe Fletcher, a street peddler, and talks about his new wife, Margaret, and their new baby, Lucy.