The Northern Lass

The Northern Lass is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by Richard Brome that premiered onstage in 1629 and was first printed in 1632. A popular hit with its audience, and one of his earliest successes, the play provided a foundation for Brome's career as a dramatist.

The Northern Lass was acted by the King's Men at both the Globe and Blackfriars theatres, "with good applause." So states the title page of the 1632 first quarto, printed by Augustine Matthews for the bookseller Nicholas Vavasour. In the original quarto, Brome dedicated the play to Richard Holford. Holford was a member of Gray's Inn, and owned land next to the site of the Cockpit Theatre, where future Brome plays would be produced. Though little is known about Holford or his connection with Brome, it is possible that Holford helped Brome with the legal terminology included in Northern Lass.

The first edition contains prefatory verses praising the play and its author, written by Ben Jonson, John Ford, and Thomas Dekker among others. The poem by Jonson begins with the lines, often quoted in the critical literature on Jonson and Brome, that record Brome's evolution from Jonson's former manservant to his fellow dramatist —

The popular play was revived and republished during the Restoration era; the second edition of 1663 added the subtitle A Nest of Fools to Brome's title. Subsequent editions tended to coincide with stage revivals – so that the play was both revived onstage and republished in 1684, in 1706/7, and in 1717. (Another edition was printed in Dublin in 1726.)

The opening scene introduces Sir Philip Luckless, the play's hero, and his kinsman Triedwell. Triedwell is concerned that Luckless has become engaged to a wealthy lawyer's widow, Mistress Audrey Fitchow. Triedwell is concerned that such a woman, who might be a suitable match for "some hard-bred citizen, crafty lawyer, or country justice," is inappropriate for a "tender nurseling of the Court" like his cousin. Sir Philip, however, is determined to pursue the match. The two men are interrupted by Mrs. Fitchow's brother Widgine and his companion and self-styled tutor Captain Anvil. Widgine quickly reveals himself to be a fool, while Anvil is a poseur and opportunist eager to exploit him.

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