Play; and in fine, change the Diction so wholly, that, excepting in
the Parts of Alphonso and Isabella, there remains not twenty lines of
the Original."

The plot, which is too involved to be analyzed, centers about the
efforts of Alphonso to redeem his beloved Isabella from, the harem of
the Vizier Mustapha. Spaniards, Turks, keepers and inhabitants of the
harem, and a "young lady disguis'd in the habit of an Eunuch," mingle in
inextricable intrigue. Some of the worst absurdities and the most
bathetic lines occur in the parts of the two lovers for which Mrs.
Haywood disclaims responsibility, but even the best passages of the play
add nothing to the credit of the reviser. Her next dramatic venture was
produced after her novels had gained some vogue with the town, as the
Prologue spoken by Mr. Theophilus Cibber indicates.

"Criticks! be dumb tonight--no Skill display;
A dangerous Woman-Poet wrote the Play: ...
Measure her Force, by her known Novels, writ
With manly Vigour, and with Woman's wit.
Then tremble, and depend, if ye beset her,
She, who can talk so well, may act yet better."

The fair success achieved by "A Wife to be Lett: A Comedy," acted at
Drury Lane three times, commencing 12 August, 1723,[11] is said to have
been due largely to the curiosity of the public to see the author, who
by reason of the indisposition of an actress performed in person the
part of the wife, Mrs. Graspall, a character well suited to her romping
disposition. It is difficult to imagine how the play could have
succeeded on its own merits, for the intricacies of the plot tax the
attention even of the reader. A certain Ann Minton, however, revived the