composed in 1808, mark a distinct epoch in English play-writing. Before we concern ourselves with his work in a detailed and comprehensive fashion, it is well for the moment, to trace the development of the Judeophile stage tendencies he inaugurated.
The work of Cumberland found several imitators. Charles Dibdin wrote the “School for Prejudice” wherein there is a Jewish character; and in his opera “Family Quarrels” he has some humorous sallies at the expense of the Jews; both plays though not entirely pro-Jewish, yet are replete with just and generous statements. In Dibdin’s “The Jew and the Doctor,” confessedly written at the request of the actor, Mr. Dowton, of the Drury Lane Theatre, of whom we shall hear more later, in order that he might play the part of a Jew, comparable to Cumberland’s “Sheva”, we find a character, more farcical than the latter, but equally benevolent. Abednego, the Jew, adopts a foundling, and shows himself charitable and compassionate. Several plays during the 19th century portray comic Jewish
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