The Shop Girl was one of the most popular musical comedies of its day. It was first produced by George Edwardes at the Gaiety Theatre, London in 1894 and ran for over 18 months. The plot involves the long lost daughter of a millionaire to whom a fortune is due; her true identity can only be confirmed by the presence of a birthmark. The daughter is found to be a shop girl and her fortune enables her to marry, after various misunderstandings, her sweetheart – a penniless medical student from a good family.