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Susanna Centlivre (also known as Susanna Carroll) was an English poet, actress, and playwright. She is known by some to be the most successful female playwright of the 18th century. Many actors and actresses won their fame through their performances of characters in her plays. Though her plays were very popular, she did not garner much positive critical reputation. Alexander Pope found her writings offensive and also found them threatening to greater dramatists by pandering to popular tastes. Regardless of her peers’ opinions, though, her plays continued to be performed for over 150 years after her death.
