Gulzara; or The Persian Slave

Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie

Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(5 stars; 1 review)

“Gulzara, The Persian Slave” is a rare example of a script for a Victorian melodrama that was intended as a private theatrical – to be performed by a limited cast of amateurs in a home or school, not on a public stage. Rarer still, “Gulzara” was written by a female author to be performed by a cast of women. The only male character, Amurath, was a “breeches role,” played by a young girl. Thus this drama, set in a harem in Constantinople, in addition to spinning a yarn about the abduction of Sultan Suliman’s son, gives us an unusual peek at the lives of young women in the U.S. in the 1840’s and 50’s. - Summary by Kelly S. Taylor

Cast List

Amurath Jasmin Salma
Zuleika Kelly S. Taylor
Fatima the story girl
Katinka Larry Wilson
Gulzara E. J. Lavery
Ayesha TJ Burns
Stage Directions Wayne Cooke
(1 hr 40 min)