Initiating a Granger, 1877

Victorian-era drawing room play, also called an exhibition and parlor drama. Drawing room plays were developed during the Victorian period in the U.K. and were designed for entertaining guests in the drawing room of one's home. They include instructions for simple costumes and props as well as stage directions.

Initiating a Granger, a farce, takes place in a student's room in an agricultural college where two freshmen are to be initiated into a grange organized by the students.

The Amateur Series, seventh edition, published 1877, Chicago: T.S. Denison. The cover states "Act well your part" and the play originally sold for 15 cents. A description of this title in the back of the edition states that "Though the "Granger" fever may be forgotten, this play will always possess a peculiar interest. So many thousands have been sold that its merits are firmly established." Testimonials stated "Initiating a Granger brought down the house" (Dramatic Club, Burlington, Iowa); "It was laughable beyond description (J.W. Simmons, Lawrence, Mich.); and "It took so well we wish to try another" (H.R. Pettengill, Ithaca, Mich.).