Andrew Halliday
Encyclopedia
Andrew Halliday [formerly Andrew Halliday Duff] (1830 – 10 April 1877) was a Scottish journalist and dramatist.
He was educated at Marischal College
, Aberdeen
, and in 1849 he went to London
, and discarding the name of Duff, devoted himself to literature. His first engagement was with the daily papers, and his work having attracted the notice of Thackeray
, he was invited to write for the Cornhill Magazine
.
From 1861 he contributed largely to All the Year Round, and many of his articles were republished in collected form. He was also the author, alone and with others, of a great number of farce
s, burlesque
s and melodrama
s and a peculiarly successful adapter of popular novels for the stage. Of these Little Em'ly (1869), his adaptation of David Copperfield
, was warmly approved by Dickens
himself, and enjoyed a long run at Drury Lane
.
), Banffshire, early in 1830, was son of the Rev. William Duff, M.A.
, minister, of Grange, Banffshire
, 1821–44, who died 23 September 1844, aged 53, by his wife Mary Steinson. Andrew was educated at the Marischal College
and the University of Aberdeen
.
On coming to London in 1849 he was for some time connected with the Morning Chronicle
, the Leader, the People's Journal, and other periodicals. He soon became known as a writer, and discarded the name of Duff. In 1851 he wrote the article Beggars in Henry Mayhew
's London Labour and the London Poor
. He wrote for the Cornhill Magazine
, and was a constant contributor to All the Year Round. To the latter periodical he furnished a series of essays from 1861 onwards, which were afterwards collected into volumes entitled Everyday Papers, Sunnyside Papers, and Town and Country. His article in All the Year Round called My Account with Her Majesty was reprinted by order of the postmaster-general
, and more than half a million copies circulated.
As one of the founders and president of the Savage Club
in 1857, he naturally took an interest in dramatic writing, and on Boxing night 1858, in conjunction with Frederick Lawrence, produced at the Strand Theatre
a burlesque
entitled Kenilworth, which ran upwards of one hundred nights, and was followed by a travesty of Romeo and Juliet. In partnership with William Brough he then wrote the Pretty Horsebreaker, the Census, the Area Belle, and several other farces. In domestic drama he was the author of Daddy Gray, the Loving Cup, Checkmate, and Love's Dream, pieces produced with much success by Miss Oliver
at the Royalty Theatre
. The Great City, a piece put on the stage at Drury Lane
on 22 April 1867, although not remarkable for the plot or dialogue, hit the public taste and ran 102 nights. The opening piece at the new Vaudeville Theatre
, London, 16 April 1870, For Love or Money, was written by Halliday. He also was the writer of a series of dramas adapted from the works of well-known authors. These pieces were: Little Em'ly, Olympic Theatre
, 9 October 1869, which ran two hundred nights; Amy Robsart, Drury Lane, 24 September 1870; Nell, Olympic Theatre, 19 November; Notre Dame, Adelphi Theatre
, 10 April 1871; Rebecca, Drury Lane, 23 September; Hilda, Adelphi, 1 April 1872; The Lady of the Lake, Drury Lane, 21 September; and Heart's Delight, founded on Dickens
Dombey and Son
, Globe Theatre
, 17 December 1873.
He possessed a remarkable talent for bringing out the salient points of a novel, and his adaptations were successful where others failed. Charles Dickens warmly praised the construction of Little Em'ly. From 1873 Halliday suffered from softening of the brain.
He died at 74 St. Augustine's Road, Camden Town, London, 10 April 1877, and was buried in Highgate cemetery on 14 April.
In Lacy's
Acting Edition of Plays, the following pieces were printed: in vol. xliii. Romeo and Juliet travestie, and in vol. lxxxv. Checkmate, a farce. The farces by William Brough and A. Halliday were: In vol. l. the Census, in vol. li. the Pretty Horsebreaker, in vol. lv. A Shilling Day at the Great Exhibition and the Colleen Bawn settled at last, in vol. lvii. A Valentine, in vol. lx. My Heart's in the Highlands, in vol. lxii. the Area Belle, in vol. lxiii. the Actor's Retreat, in vol. lxiv. Doing Banting, in vol. lxv. Going to the Dogs, in vol. lxvi. Upstairs and Downstairs, in vol. lxvii. Mudborough Election. Kenilworth, a comic extravaganza, by A. Halliday and F. Lawrence, and Checkmate, a comedy, were also printed. In a publication called Mixed Sweets, 1867, Halliday wrote About Pantomimes, pp. 43–54.
He was educated at Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, and in 1849 he went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and discarding the name of Duff, devoted himself to literature. His first engagement was with the daily papers, and his work having attracted the notice of Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
, he was invited to write for the Cornhill Magazine
Cornhill Magazine
The Cornhill Magazine was a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London.Cornhill was founded by George Murray Smith in 1860 and was published until 1975. It was a literary journal with a selection of articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new novels...
.
From 1861 he contributed largely to All the Year Round, and many of his articles were republished in collected form. He was also the author, alone and with others, of a great number of farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
s, burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
s and melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
s and a peculiarly successful adapter of popular novels for the stage. Of these Little Em'ly (1869), his adaptation of David Copperfield
David Copperfield (novel)
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
, was warmly approved by Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
himself, and enjoyed a long run at Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
.
Biography
Andrew Halliday Duff was born at the Grange, Marnoch (near HuntlyHuntly, Aberdeenshire
Huntly is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It has a population 4,460 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle...
), Banffshire, early in 1830, was son of the Rev. William Duff, M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, minister, of Grange, Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
, 1821–44, who died 23 September 1844, aged 53, by his wife Mary Steinson. Andrew was educated at the Marischal College
Marischal College
Marischal College is a building and former university in the centre of the city of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The building is owned by the University of Aberdeen and used for ceremonial events...
and the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
.
On coming to London in 1849 he was for some time connected with the Morning Chronicle
Morning Chronicle
The Morning Chronicle was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London, England, and published under various owners until 1862. It was most notable for having been the first employer of Charles Dickens, and for publishing the articles by Henry Mayhew which were collected and published in book format in...
, the Leader, the People's Journal, and other periodicals. He soon became known as a writer, and discarded the name of Duff. In 1851 he wrote the article Beggars in Henry Mayhew
Henry Mayhew
Henry Mayhew was an English social researcher, journalist, playwright and advocate of reform. He was one of the two founders of the satirical and humorous magazine Punch, and the magazine's joint-editor, with Mark Lemon, in its early days...
's London Labour and the London Poor
London Labour and the London Poor
London Labour and the London Poor is a work of Victorian journalism by Henry Mayhew. In the 1840s he observed, documented and described the state of working people in London for a series of articles in a newspaper, the Morning Chronicle, that were later compiled into book form.-Overview:The...
. He wrote for the Cornhill Magazine
Cornhill Magazine
The Cornhill Magazine was a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London.Cornhill was founded by George Murray Smith in 1860 and was published until 1975. It was a literary journal with a selection of articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new novels...
, and was a constant contributor to All the Year Round. To the latter periodical he furnished a series of essays from 1861 onwards, which were afterwards collected into volumes entitled Everyday Papers, Sunnyside Papers, and Town and Country. His article in All the Year Round called My Account with Her Majesty was reprinted by order of the postmaster-general
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
, and more than half a million copies circulated.
As one of the founders and president of the Savage Club
Savage Club
The Savage Club, founded in 1857 is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:Many and varied are the stories that have been told about the first meeting of the Savage Club, of the precise purposes for which it was formed, and of its christening...
in 1857, he naturally took an interest in dramatic writing, and on Boxing night 1858, in conjunction with Frederick Lawrence, produced at the Strand Theatre
Royal Strand Theatre
The Royal Strand Theatre was located in Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps...
a burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
entitled Kenilworth, which ran upwards of one hundred nights, and was followed by a travesty of Romeo and Juliet. In partnership with William Brough he then wrote the Pretty Horsebreaker, the Census, the Area Belle, and several other farces. In domestic drama he was the author of Daddy Gray, the Loving Cup, Checkmate, and Love's Dream, pieces produced with much success by Miss Oliver
Martha Cranmer Oliver
Martha Cranmer Oliver , also known as Pattie Oliver or M. Oliver, was an English actress and theatre manager....
at the Royalty Theatre
Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
. The Great City, a piece put on the stage at Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
on 22 April 1867, although not remarkable for the plot or dialogue, hit the public taste and ran 102 nights. The opening piece at the new Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
, London, 16 April 1870, For Love or Money, was written by Halliday. He also was the writer of a series of dramas adapted from the works of well-known authors. These pieces were: Little Em'ly, Olympic Theatre
Olympic Theatre
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...
, 9 October 1869, which ran two hundred nights; Amy Robsart, Drury Lane, 24 September 1870; Nell, Olympic Theatre, 19 November; Notre Dame, Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
, 10 April 1871; Rebecca, Drury Lane, 23 September; Hilda, Adelphi, 1 April 1872; The Lady of the Lake, Drury Lane, 21 September; and Heart's Delight, founded on Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
Dombey and Son
Dombey and Son
Dombey and Son is a novel by the Victorian author Charles Dickens. It was first published in monthly parts between October 1846 and April 1848 with the full title Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation...
, Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
, 17 December 1873.
He possessed a remarkable talent for bringing out the salient points of a novel, and his adaptations were successful where others failed. Charles Dickens warmly praised the construction of Little Em'ly. From 1873 Halliday suffered from softening of the brain.
He died at 74 St. Augustine's Road, Camden Town, London, 10 April 1877, and was buried in Highgate cemetery on 14 April.
Printed works
His works include- The Adventures of Mr. Wilderspin in his Journey through Life, 1860.
- Everyday Papers, 1864, 2 vols.
- Sunnyside Papers, 1866.
- Town and Country Sketches, 1866.
- The Great City, a novel, 1867.
- The Savage Club Papers, 1867 and 1868, edited by A. Halliday, 2 vols.
- Shakespeare's tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, arranged by A. Halliday, 1873.
In Lacy's
Thomas Hailes Lacy
Thomas Hailes Lacy was a British actor, playwright, theatrical manager, bookseller, and theatrical publisher.Lacy made his West End stage debut in 1828 but soon turned manager, a position he held from 1841 at The Theatre, Sheffield...
Acting Edition of Plays, the following pieces were printed: in vol. xliii. Romeo and Juliet travestie, and in vol. lxxxv. Checkmate, a farce. The farces by William Brough and A. Halliday were: In vol. l. the Census, in vol. li. the Pretty Horsebreaker, in vol. lv. A Shilling Day at the Great Exhibition and the Colleen Bawn settled at last, in vol. lvii. A Valentine, in vol. lx. My Heart's in the Highlands, in vol. lxii. the Area Belle, in vol. lxiii. the Actor's Retreat, in vol. lxiv. Doing Banting, in vol. lxv. Going to the Dogs, in vol. lxvi. Upstairs and Downstairs, in vol. lxvii. Mudborough Election. Kenilworth, a comic extravaganza, by A. Halliday and F. Lawrence, and Checkmate, a comedy, were also printed. In a publication called Mixed Sweets, 1867, Halliday wrote About Pantomimes, pp. 43–54.