Editing Isaac Bickerstaffe (section)

==Exile==
In 1770, a newspaper published a false report that in a fit of despair, he had thrown himself into the sea in the south of France, and perished.<ref>London, 19 October, Chester Courant, 23 October 1770, p2.</ref>

In 1772, Bickerstaffe fled to the Continent, suspected of homosexuality.<ref>McConnell Stott, p. 80</ref> The actor-producer [[David Garrick]] was implicated in the scandal by the lampoon ''[[Love in the Suds]]'' by [[William Kenrick (writer)|William Kenrick]]. The remainder of his life seems to have been passed in penury and misery, but little is known.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

However, in March 1772, it was reported that he was writing a small piece, which was to be called the ''Coterie,'' and would be performed at the Haymarket theatre that summer.<ref>London, Derby Mercury, 27 March 1772, p1.</ref>

In early August 1772, it was reported that "Bickerstaff...who lately absconded for a detestable crime, died miserably a few days ago in Sussex".<ref>London 31 July, Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 6 August 1772, p1.</ref> However this again appears to have been a false report, as records indicate he was still receiving his army half pay in 1808.<ref>Peter A. Tasch, ''The Dramatic Cobbler: The Life and Works of Isaac Bickerstaff'', Brucknell University Press, 1971, p249.</ref> "It seems he may have died soon after this."<ref>Bickerstaff, Isaac John; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</ref>

Long after Bickerstaffe's disappearance, his colleague [[Charles Dibdin]] was frequently accused of plagiarising his songs.