page_title: James Planché
section_title: Marriage and family
hierarchical_section_title: James Planché / Marriage and family
caption_attribution_description: Letter from William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) to playwright James Robinson Planché (1796–1880) asking for tickets to go behind the scenes at one of his plays.
context_page_description: James Robinson Planché was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including extravaganza, farce, comedy, burletta, melodrama and opera. Planché was responsible for introducing historically accurate costume into nineteenth century British theatre, and subsequently became an acknowledged expert on historical costume, publishing a number of works on the topic.
  Planché's interest in historical costume led to other antiquarian research, including heraldry and genealogy. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1829, and was influential in the foundation of the British Archaeological Association in 1843. Appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant in 1854 and promoted to Somerset Herald in 1866, Planché undertook heraldic and ceremonial duties as a member of the College of Arms. These included proclaiming peace at the end of the Crimean War and investing foreign monarchs with the Order of the Garter.
context_section_description: On 26 April 1821, Planché married Elizabeth St George, a playwright. She wrote The Welsh Girl for the Olympic Theatre shortly after its opening in 1831 and, emboldened by its successful reception, continued to write for the stage. Among her more successful plays were A Handsome Husband and A Pleasant Neighbour, both at the Olympic, and The Sledge Driver and The Ransom, both produced at the Haymarket Theatre. From viewing their plays, it's thought that they collaborated, as he excelled in "playful dialog", and she excelled in "sentimental and melodramatic scenes".  Elizabeth Planché died in 1846 after a long illness. The couple had two daughters, Katherine Frances, born in 1823, and Matilda Anne, born in 1825. Katherine married William Curteis Whelan of Heronden Hall, Tenterden, Kent in 1851.
  Matilda achieved success as an author of children's books (using the pen name Susie Sunbeam), beginning in 1849 with A Trap to Catch a Sunbeam, which subsequently went through 42 editions. She married the Rev. Henry Mackarness in 1852, and with him had eleven children, four of whom did not survive infancy. Taking after her father in terms of writing output, Matilda Mackarness produced an average of one book a year until her death, most of them under her married name. Her husband's death in 1868 left her with little means of supporting her family, as the books did not produce much income. She and her children moved in with her father.
caption: A letter from William Makepeace Thackeray to Planché, asking for tickets to go behind the scenes of one of his plays
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