Armand; or The Peer and The Peasant

"Armand; or The Peer and The Peasant" is a romantic melodrama written by Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie. While her comedy "Fashion" is more well-known today, this play was a hit during its time. It follows the story of Blanche, a beautiful and kind peasant maiden, who discovers that she may be the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy peer. The play takes place during the craze for settings and characters made popular by Alexander Dumas' "Musketeer" novels, which were still being published in serial form at the time. This drama is a tale of adventure, romance, and the struggles of class and identity in nineteenth-century society.