Susanna and William Rowson, 1794

[ROWSON, Susanna Haswell (1762-1824)]. INCHBALD, Elizabeth (1753-1821) and William ROWSON. Every One Has His Fault: A Comedy, in Five Acts By Mrs Inchbald. As it is performed at the New Theatre, Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Printed for H. & P. Rice, and Mathew Carey, 1794.

First American edition, modified for the Philadelphia stage by William Rowson, with the role of Mrs Placid played by Susanna Rowson. The popular play was originally written by English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator Elizabeth Simpson Inchbald, known for bringing translated French works to the English stage. William Rowson was the husband of Anglo-American novelist, playwright and poet Susana Rowson. Following the success of her best-selling novel Charlotte Temple, and the failure of William's hardware business in Britain, the couple turned to the theater and came to America, traveling to Philadelphia in 1793 with the Thomas Wignell Company. Susanna continued her literary pursuits and was active on the stage, performing in over fifty roles (including the present play). The Rowsons moved to Boston in 1796, where she continued acting for another year before opening her boarding school and concentrating on writing to support her husband and family. Rare: the last copy recorded in RBH was in 1908. Evans 27154.

12mo (165 x 95mm). 75 pp. (extracted from a pamphlet volume, title page nearly separated with small loss at margin, a little very minor soiling).