the time of his death was under £1000. Planché "greatly enjoyed moving in society and meeting the well-known". He was a regular attender at conversaziones, breakfasts and soireés where he "met and was introduced to most of the notabilities then living in London". In 1831 he was a founding member of the Garrick Club. His autobiography contains many anecdotes of his acquaintances in theatrical and literary circles. Planché was also much esteemed in private life. Theatrical career Early career and libretti Planché's career as a playwright began, as already mentioned, in 1818 when Amoroso, King of Little Britain, a play he had written for an amateur performance at a private theatre, was seen by John Pritt Harley and subsequently performed at Drury Lane. The play was a success and Harley, along with Stephen Kemble and Robert William Elliston, encouraged Planché to take up play-writing full-time. Planché did so; his next play to be performed was a pantomime at Christmas of that same year. A further six of his plays were performed in 1819, the same number in 1820, and eleven in 1821, most of these at the Adelphi Theatre, but also including some at the Lyceum, the Olympic and Sadler's Wells. Planché's early works were "generally unremarkable", one exception in this period being The Vampire, or, The Bride of the Isles, produced at the Lyceum in August 1820, an adaptation of Charles Nodier's Le Vampire (this was a dramatisation of John Polidori's novel The Vampyre). The play featured the innovative "vampire trap", a trapdoor in the stage which allowed an actor to disappear (or appear) almost instantly. Kenilworth Castle, or, the Days of Queen Bess, produced 8 February 1821, was also very successful. Planché wrote a total of 176 plays. Planché held the position of stock author (in-house writer) at the Adelphi for a short period in 1821, before moving to a similar position at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. In 1822 he wrote the libretto (and some of the music) for his first full-scale opera, Maid Marian; or, the Huntress of Arlingford. In 1826 he wrote the libretto for another opera, Oberon, or the Elf-King's Oath, the final work of composer Carl Maria von Weber, who died a few months after its completion. While this opera was a commercial success and received a favourable critical response at the time, subsequent critics have not appreciated Planché's libretto. In 1838 Planché