William Godwin: his Friends and Contemporaries
Ch. VII. 1806-1811
William Hazlitt to William Godwin, [1809?]
Dear Sir,—I am forced to trouble you with the
following questions, which I shall be much obliged to you to answer as well as
you can.
“1. At what time H[olcroft] lived with Granville
Sharpe? whether before or after he turned actor? and whether the
scene described in “Alwyn,” as the occasion by Holkirk (i.e., himself in the subsequent
part) went on the stage, really took place between Sharpe
and Holcroft? I mean the one when Seddon discovers his appearance at a sporting club, in the
character of Macbeth.
“What was the maiden name of Mrs Sparks?
Thomas Holcroft (1745-1809)
English playwright and novelist; a friend of William Godwin indicted for treason in 1794;
author of
The Road to Ruin (1792). His
Memoirs (1816) were completed by William Hazlitt.
Granville Sharp (1735-1813)
After working as a clerk in the Ordinance Department he became a prominent abolitionist
and supporter of evangelical and radical causes.
Sarah Sparks [née Mills] (1754-1837)
Actress who performed at Edinburgh and after her marriage c. 1776 to G. Hugh Sparks, at
Drury Lane; she retired in 1820.
