and capitalised on Barry's phenomenal success in the role of the similarly helpless Monimia in Otway's The Orphan (1680). Of all of the characters, Belvidera is the most powerless in the face of overwhelming social and political turmoil. Each of the characters has a conflict between the social and personal laws of class and self. Belvidera has to struggle against duty to her father and to love. Jaffeir has to struggle against "honour" and love, as well as friendship and ideals. Priuli must decide between love of daughter and personal pride. Belvidera remained a starring role for actresses because her tragic situation was most affecting for audiences. Success of the play Otway was the toast of London after Venice Preserv'd, and yet the financial situation of the theatre meant that he did not grow wealthy from his work. In 1692, Robert Gould (To Julian, Secretary of the Muses) wrote, "Otway, though very fat, starves." Venice Preserv'd has not survived to the 21st century as a byword for tragedy, but it was one of the best-known and most important of English tragedies for over 100 years. On 10 April 1865, John Wilkes Booth told Louis J. Weichmann that he was done with the stage and that the only play he wanted to present henceforth was Venice Preserv'd. Although Weichmann did not understand the reference at the time, it was later assumed to be a veiled allusion to the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. References Howe, Elizabeth (1992). The First English Actresses: Women and Drama 1660–1700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. External links Text of Venice Preserved at Project Gutenberg Text from an American edition of 1874, which bowdlerises the text, completely eliminating the character of Antonio. Venice preserved; or, A plot discovered, a tragedy. Adapted for theatrical representation (1796) Scanned from University of Toronto – Robarts Library, in the Internet Archive. Full text. 1682 plays English Restoration plays Tragedy plays Venice in fiction Plays by Thomas Otway