Samuel Crisp

[2] At the request of the Countess of Coventry he wrote the play Virginia, a tragedy based on the story of Appius and Verginia.

The play was reluctantly accepted by David Garrick, who contributed prologue and epilogue, and in February 1754 it was produced at Drury Lane, where it ran for eleven nights.

Although there was little open censure, it was felt that an experiment had been made on the patience of the public which would not bear repetition.

When a few weeks later Virginia appeared in print, the critics, particularly in the Monthly Review, condemned plot, characters, and diction.

[1][2] Crisp, however, devoted himself to the task of revision, in the hope of being completely successful in the following year; but Garrick showed little disposition to bring the amended tragedy on the stage, and at length was obliged to return a decided refusal.