CRITICISM

Frushell, Richard C. Introduction to The Plays of Susanna Centlivre, Vol. 1, ed. Richard C. Frushell, pp. ix-cxxi. New York: Garland Publishing, 1982.

Extensive introduction to Centlivre's life and works, emphasizing the stage history of her plays and early critical responses.

Fowler, Patsy S. “Rejecting the Status Quo: The Attempts of Mary Pix and Susanna Centlivre to Reform Society's Patriarchal Attitudes.” Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Theatre Research 11, No. 2 (Winter 1996): 49-59.

Argues that Centlivre and Pix “should be recognized for their attempts to reform society's attitudes and thus create a more woman-friendly culture.”

Rogers, Katherine M. “Introduction: and “Susanna Centlivre.” In The Meridian Anthology of Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Plays by Women, ed. Katherine M. Rogers, pp. vii-xvii; 185-86. New York: Meridian, 1994.

Discusses Centlivre in the context of early female ventures into the male-dominated territory of the theater. Rogers argues that Centlivre's plays do not evidence a strong feminist awareness.

Additional coverage of Centlivre's life and career is contained in the following source published by the Gale Group: Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 84.