Lives of Shakespearian Actors, Part IV:

Helen Faucit, Lucia Elizabeth Vestris and Fanny Kemble by their Contemporaries

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Series Editor: Gail Marshall
Consulting Editor: Tetsuo Kishi
Volume Editors: Christy Desmet, Janice Norwood and Katherine Newey

Lives of Shakespearian Actors

The three actors considered in Part IV of our successful Lives of Shakespearian Actors series were all women who made considerable and long-lasting contributions to the dramatic arts.

Helen Faucit, who came from an acting family, joined the Covent Garden Theatre company in 1836, where she acted alongside both William Charles Macready and Charles Kemble. Macready, although ambivalent about Faucit’s ambitions, considered her the best actress of the period. As her career progressed, she became known for her ability to embody Ideal Womanhood, an identification that was strengthened by Faucit’s marriage to Sir Theodore Martin and confirmed by Martin’s valedictory biography of his wife. Despite her identification with the concept of Ideal Womanhood, which to a great extent was based on her portrayals of Shakespeare’s heroines, Faucit continued her work in the theatre after marriage, living her life as both Helen Faucit and Lady Martin. Helen Faucit’s theatrical representations of women both crystallized and influenced Victorian views of femininity.

Frances Anne (Fanny) Kemble came from an acting dynasty. Eldest daughter of Charles Kemble and niece of Sarah Siddons, she became an accomplished actor in her own right. Aside from acting, Fanny published a number of plays and memoirs and a collection of poetry.

Lucia Elizabeth Vestris began her performing career as a contralto opera singer. However, it was in male roles in burlesques that she achieved a new level of fame, if not notoriety. She went on to manage several theatres: at Covent Garden she re-introduced Love’s Labour’s Lost and restored much of the text of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Inaugurating a tradition of women playing the role, she cast herself as Oberon in the production.

This facsimile edition is backed up by full scholarly apparatus and will appeal to those undertaking research in Shakespearian Studies, Nineteenth-Century Studies and the History of the Theatre and Performance.

Sample pages

• Sample pages from Volume 1: Helen Faucit

Contents

Volume 1: Helen Faucit
First Performances: from Richmond to Covent Garden: Helen Faucit, ‘Juliet’, On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899); ‘Miss Helen Faucit’, Hiscoke and Son’s Richmond Notes (1865); Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*. Relationship with William Charles Macready: The Diaries of William Charles Macready, William Toynbee (ed) (1912)*. Letters from Helen Faucit to William Charles Macready: Helen Faucit, Letter to William Charles Macready, 14 July 1837; Helen Faucit, Letter to William Charles Macready, 2 March 1870. Theodore Martin and Helen Faucit on her Collaborations with Macready: Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*; Helen Faucit, 'Desdemona', On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899). Performing in the Provinces and Parisian Engagement: Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*; Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*. Professional Life after Marriage: 'Final' Performances: Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*; Letter of Helen Faucit to Clement Scott. Professional Life after Marriage: Charitable Activities: Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*. Shakespearian Roles: Beatrice: Helen Faucit, 'Beatrice', On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899); Review of Much Ado About Nothing, Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (1879). Shakespearian Roles: Hermione: Helen Faucit, 'Hermione', On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899); Review of The Winter's Tale, Morning Post (1837); Review of The Winter's Tale, Caledonian Mercury (1847). Shakespearian Roles: Imogen: Helen Faucit, 'Imogen', On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899); Charles Rice, 'Cymbeline, Covent-Garden Theatre, Thursday, May 18 1837' (1837); George Fletcher, 'Characters in Cymbeline', Studies of Shakespeare (1847); Henry Morley, The Journal of a London Playgoer (1866)*; 'Drury-Lane Theatre', Morning Post (1864). Shakespearian Roles: Portia: Helen Faucit, 'Portia', On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899). Shakespearian Roles: Rosalind: Helen Faucit, 'Rosalind', On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1899); [John Forster], Review of As You LIke It, Examiner (1839); George Fletcher, Studies of Shakespeare in the Plays of King John, Macbeth, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Cymbeline, Romeo and Juliet (1843)*; Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*; Henry Morley, The Journal of a London Playgoer (1866)*; [G H Lewes], 'As You Like It', Pall Mall Gazette (1865); Letter of Helen Faucit to Lewis Wingfield, 23 August, 1879. Helen Faucit as Idea and Ideal: 'Woman', poem (nd); Anonymous letter, Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*; Charles Rice, ‘Kemble Retiring, Faucit Advancing’, Dramatic Register (1936); Letter of 'Mephistopheles', Caledonian Mercury (1843); Mephistophles, 'Our Standard Plays and their Representation at the Edinburgh Theatre: Cymbeline', Caledonian Mercury (1844); Archibald Alison, Essays, Political, Historical, and Miscellaneous (1850)*; Letter of Helen Faucit to George Hadden (1864); Letter of Helen Faucit to Mr [John Henry] Alexander (nd). Memoirs and Biographies: Mrs Cornwell Baron Wilson, 'Miss Helen Faucit', Our Actresses (1844); [Margaret Stokes], ‘Helen Faucit’, Blackwood’s Magazine (1885); J W Flynn, The Random Recollections of an Old Play-Goer (1890)*. Verses: Theodore Martin's Tributes to Helen Faucit: Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*; [Theodore Martin], ‘Bon Gaultier and His Friends’, Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine (1844); Theodore Martin, 'To My Wife' (nd). Verses: Other Tributes to Helen Faucit: Thomas Noon Talfourd, 'To Miss Helen Faucit' (1900); Robert Browning, ‘Lines to Helen Faucit’ (1899); Anon. manuscript poem (nd); Reverend John Moultrie, 'Stanzas to Helen Faucit' (1900); 'Verses by Charles Swain' (1900). On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters and its Reception: Dina Mulock Craik, ‘Merely Players’, Nineteenth Century (1886); Letter of Helen Faucit to C E Flower (1891). Final Years and Retrospective: Margaret Oliphant, The Autobiography of Mrs Oliphant (1899)*; Theodore Martin, Helena Faucit, Lady Martin (1900)*

Volume 2: Lucia Elizabeth Vestris
Early Notices: ‘King’s Theatre’, The Times (1815); ‘The Mirror of Fashion’, Morning Chronicle (1815); 'Madame Vestris (Extract of a Letter from Paris)', British Stage and Literary Cabinet (1817); ‘Theatrical Examiner’, Examiner (1820); 'Artaxerxes', Theatrical Inquisitor (1820); 'Giovanni in London', Theatrical Inquisitor (1820); 'Biographical Sketches of Illustrious and Distinguished Characters, Number One Hundred and Thirty-Eight: Madame Vestris, La Belle Assemblée (1820). Scandal and Defence: Anon., Memoirs of the Life, Public and Private Adventures of Madame Vestris ([1836])*; [W Oxberry], 'Memoir of Madame Vestris', Oxberry’s Dramatic Biography and Histrionic Anecdotes (1826); Spirit of the Age Newspaper, for 1828 (1829)*; Anon., Memoirs, Public & Private Life, Adventures, and Secret Amours of Mrs C M late Mad. V. Of the Royal Olympic Theatre (nd); Anon., Memoirs of The Life of Madame Vestris of the Theatres Royal Drury Lane and Covent Garden (1830)*; ‘Drury-Lane Theatre’, The Times (1830); Lumley Skeffington, ‘Stanzas on Madame Vestris having Established a Theatre of Her Own’, The Times, (1831); James Orchard Halliwell, The Management of Covent Garden Theatre Vindicated from the Attack of an Anonymous Critic (1841)*. Managers, Actors and Stage Crew on Vestris: Alfred Bunn, The Stage (1840)*; Joe Cowell, Thirty Years Passed among the Players in England and America (1845)*; George Vandenhoff, Dramatic Reminiscences (1860)*; [Matthew Mackintosh], Stage Reminiscences (1866)*; Fred Belton, Random Recollections of an Old Actor (1880)*; Lester Wallack, Memories of Fifty Years (1889)*; James R Anderson, An Actor’s Life (1902)*; John Coleman, Fifty Year’s of an Actor’s Life (1904)*. Dramatists on Vestris: Leigh Hunt, A Legend of Florence: a Play in Five Acts (1840)*; D Bourcicault [sic], London Assurance (1841)*; D Boucicault, ‘The Debut of a Dramatist’, North American Review (1889)*; T F Dillon Croker and S Tucker (eds), The Extravaganzas of J R Planché (1879)*; James Robinson Planché, Recollections and Reflections (1901)*. Recollections of Charles Mathews: Charles James Mathews, The Life of Charles James Mathews (1879)*. Miscellaneous Recollections: [William Cox] Crayon Sketches By An Amateur, Theodore S Fay (ed) (1833)*; [Prince Pückler-Muskau], Tour in England, Ireland, and France (1832)*; Mrs C Baron Wilson, Our Actresses (1844)*; Thomas Slingsby Duncombe, The Life and Correspondence of Thomas Slingsby Duncombe, Thomas H Duncombe (ed) (1868)*; Dutton Cook, Hours with the Players (1881)*; George Augustus Sala, The Life and Adventures of George Augustus Sala (1895)*. Reviews of Non-Shakespearian Productions: ‘Covent Garden’, Literary Gazette and Journal of the Belles Lettres (1827); 'Madame Vestris', Dramatic Magazine (1829)*; 'Worcester', Dramatic Magazine (1829)*; ‘Theatre Royal’, Caledonian Mercury (1829)*; 'Theatricals', Figaro in London (2 February 1833)*; 'Theatricals', Figaro in London (9 March 1833)*; 'Theatricals', Figaro in London (23 March 1833)*; 'Theatricals', Figaro in London (26 March 1833)*; ‘Her Majesty’s Visit to Covent-Garden’, Theatrical Companion (1849); [G H Lewes], ‘The Perfection of Acting’, Leader (1850). Reviews of Shakespearian Productions: ‘Drury-Lane Theatre, The Times (1822); ‘The Theatres: Covent Garden’, Caledonian Mercury (1839); ‘The Stage: Covent Garden’, Odd Fellow (1839); ‘Music and the Drama’, Athenaeum (1839)*; ‘Theatrical Examiner’, Examiner (1839); ‘Theatres’, John Bull (1839); 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream', John Bull (1840); ‘Music and the Drama’, Athenaeum (1840); ‘Theatrical Examiner’, Examiner (1840); ‘Covent Garden’, Era (1840); ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, The Times (1840). Obituaries and Retrospectives: T P Grinstead, ‘Madame Vestris’, Bentley’s Miscellany (1856); Westland Marston, Our Recent Actors (1888)*; ‘Madame Vestris’, Dwight’s Journal of Music (1856); 'Memoir of Madame Vestris', Era (1856)

Volume 3: Fanny Kemble
Fanny Kemble on her Debut and Playing Juliet: Frances Anne Kemble, Records of a Girlhood (1878)*. Juliet: Newspaper Reviews: ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, Morning Chronicle (1829); ‘Covent Garden Theatre’, Standard (1829); ‘Covent Garden,’ London Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences (1829); ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, The Times (1829); ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, Morning Post (1829); ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, Morning Chronicle (1829); ‘Theatricals’, Age (1829); ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, The Times (1829); ‘Covent Garden’, Dramatic Magazine (1829); ‘Covent Garden Theatre’, The Theatrical Observer (1829). Juliet: Extended Commentaries: [Thomas Noon Talfourd], ‘The Drama: Covent-Garden Theatre’, Monthly Magazine (1829); Anna Jameson, Visits and Sketches at Home and Abroad (1839)*; Leigh Hunt, Leigh Hunt: Dramatic Essays, W Archer and R W Lowe (eds) (1894)*. Juliet: Private Correspondence: Sir Thomas Lawrence, Letters to FAK on her performance as Juliet (nd). Poems: Eliza Emerson, 'Sonnet Addressed to Miss Fanny Kemble on her First Appearance at Covent Garden in the Character of "Juliet"', Morning Post (1829); 'To Miss Kemble', Morning Post (1829); 'To Miss Kemble', Morning Post (1829); 'To Miss Kemble', Morning Post (1829); 'To Miss Fanny Kemble', Morning Post (1830). Portia, Merchant of Venice: ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, Morning Chronicle (1830); ‘Theatrical Examiner’, Examiner (1830); ‘Covent Garden Theatre’, Theatrical Observer (1830); ‘Covent-Garden’, Belle Assemblée; or Court and Fashionable Magazine (1830); ‘Theatricals’, Age (1830); ‘The Drama’ (1830). Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing: ‘Covent-Garden Theatre’, Morning Post (1831); 'Theatricals', Age (1831); ‘The Drama’, The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons (1831) ‘Covent Garden’, La Belle Assemblée; or Court and Fashionable Magazine (1831); ‘Theatricals’, Belle Assemblée; or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine (1831). Kemble as Constance, King John: Leigh Hunt, 'Miss Fanny Kemble as Constance', Dramatic Essays, W Archer and R W Lowe (eds) (1894); ‘Theatricals’, Age (1831); ‘Theatrical Examiner’, Examiner (1831); Anna Jameson, Letter to FAK (nd). Katherine, in Henry VIII: ‘The Drama’, Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle (1831); Anna Jameson, ‘Critique on Queen Katherine’, manuscript letter to FAK (nd). Kemble’s Return to the Stage: ‘Theatricals’, Lloyd’s Weekly London Newspaper (1847); ‘Provincial Theatricals’, Era (1847). Shakespeare Readings: ‘Mrs Butler’s Readings’, The Times (1848); ‘Theatres and Music’, John Bull (1850); ‘St James’s Theatre’, Morning Post (1850); ‘St James’s Theatre’, The Times (1850); ‘Mrs Fanny Kemble’s “Readings” in London’ (1850); ‘Mrs Fanny Kemble’s Readings’, Caledonian Mercury (1851); ‘Public Amusements at Liverpool’, Era (1851); ‘Theatres &c. St James’s. Mrs Fanny Kemble’s Readings of Shakspere’, Era (1851); ‘Mrs Fanny Kemble’s Readings’, Morning Post (1851); ‘Mrs Fanny Kemble’s Reading from Shakspere’, Essex Standard (1852); ‘Theatres and Music’, John Bull (1855); ‘Dramatic Readings’, Englishwoman’s Review and Drawing Room Journal (1857). Private Commentaries: Henry S Mower, Reminiscences of a Hotel Man (nd)*; James Thomas Fields, 'Written after having Heard Mrs Kemble Read "The Tempest"' (nd). General Accounts: Critical Evaluations: S D L, 'A Memoir of the Dramatic Life of Miss Fanny Kemble' (1833); Cornwell Baron-Wilson, Our Actresses; Or, Glances at Stage Favourites, Past and Present (1844)*; 'Miss Fanny Kemble and Her Critics’, Fraser’s Magazine (1835); Brander Matthews and Laurence Hutton, Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States (1886)*; Charles Eyre Pascoe, ‘Fanny Kemble’ (1880); W Clark Russell, Representative Actors. A Collection of Criticisms, Anecdotes, Personal Descriptions (nd)*. General Accounts: Diaries and Memoirs: William Charles Macready, The Diaries of William Charles Macready (1912)*; Anne Thackeray Ritchie, ‘Mrs Kemble,’ Chapters from Some Memoirs (1894)*; Henry James, Essays in London and Elsewhere (1893)*. Obituaries: Letter of Eleanor Brianzoni to Frances Power Cobbe (1893); ‘Drama: Fanny Kemble’, Athenaeum (1893); John Coleman, ‘Fanny Kemble’ (1893); ‘Fanny Kemble’, Ladies’ Treasury (1893); Henry Lee, ‘Frances Anne Kemble,’ Atlantic Monthly (1893). Illustration: 'Mrs Kemble's Readings', Illustrated London News (1850)

*extract/s from original text

Related titles

• Lives of Shakespearian Actors, Part I : David Garrick, Charles Macklin and Margaret Woffington by their Contemporaries
• Lives of Shakespearian Actors, Part II : Edmund Kean, Sarah Siddons and Harriet Smithson by their Contemporaries
• Lives of Shakespearian Actors, Part III : Charles Kean, Samuel Phelps and William Charles Macready by their Contemporaries

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