odd subject to modern readers, Centlivre was merely following conventional protocol in securing patronage. With her next comedy, The Perplex'd Lovers (January 1712), Centlivre became outspoken in her political stance. Most of her plays over the next five years were directly related to the advancement of the Whigs and the House of Hanover. The play's success was limited, and it only ran for three nights. The theatre managers banned the Epilogue for fear of backlash. In 1713, after moving into a new home in Buckingham Court, Centlivre wrote two poems. The first poem is a response to Anne Oldfield's brilliant performance in a play. The second, entitled "The Masquerade," is addressed to the Duke d'Aumont, ambassador from France. Centlivre's next play was The Wonder (April 1714), a comedy. She dedicated the play to the then Duke of Cambridge. This political move of showing loyalty to the House of Hanover was risky, but, in the end, paid off for Centlivre when the Duke ascended the throne as King George I. We can see her gloating in an ironic autobiographical poem, "A Woman's Case." Not solely a political play, The Wonder was a popular hit and notably was the performance in which famous actor/playwright David Garrick chose "to make his farewell to the stage on 10 June 1776." Centlivre's next two plays, A Gotham Election and A Wife Well Manag'd, were published in 1715 (although A Gotham Election would not be performed until 1724) and fell under her now common theme, political farce. These two plays illustrate how Centlivre was ahead of her time with her exemplification of social problems in the theatre. In 1716, as a response to a Whig leader's illness and subsequent retirement, Centlivre contributed a poem to a small publication entitled State Poems. Her contribution was "Ode to Hygeia". She followed this with a series of poems in response to the political climate of the time. After attacks by satirist Alexander Pope on Centlivre and others, she and co-author Nicholas Rowe published her next play, The Cruel Gift (December 1716). It was her first heroic drama (often considered tragedy): the reception was good, and the play was performed seven times that year. In February 1718 Centlivre published A Bold Stroke for a Wife. This comical farce was very successful and is considered by some to be her best play. It is the only play for which Centlivre claims