CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN | The Lady Actress

Jan 229 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Public Reading, Mesmerism, and the Red Flower of Fame

Part One: The Dazzling Dozen In 1996, I published an article titled "Exploiting the Medium: Mesmerism and the Strange Case of Anna Cora...

Aug 3, 202320 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Mimic Life, and the Critics - Part III

PART III: PUBLICATION Originally posted August 22, 2022 Although January of 1856 is usually listed as the publication date of Mimic Life,...

Aug 1, 202319 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Ion

PART VIII: WAKING REALITIES OF MOWATT'S "DREAMY" ION Originally posted Feb. 28, 2022 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna...

Jul 31, 202311 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Charlotte Cushman, and the Vanishing Ion

PART VI: ACTRESS VS. ACTRESS Originally posted Jan. 24, 2022 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora Mowatt’s experience...

Jul 31, 202321 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Charlotte Cushman’s Ion

PART V: LADY ION Originally posted Jan. 10, 2022 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora Mowatt’s experience playing the...

Jul 31, 202321 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Ellen Tree’s Ion on Tour

PART IV: THE U.S. GOES OUT OF ITS TREE FOR ELLEN Originally posted Dec. 29, 2021 [This multi-part series of entries examines Anna Cora...

Jul 29, 202313 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Pauline, and Changes of Plan

PART XVIII: THE END BEGINS Originally posted Oct. 4, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries examining Anna Cora...

Jul 28, 202320 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Pauline at the Marylebone

Part XIII: LOVE Originally published August 30, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries examining Anna Cora...

Jul 28, 202318 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and The Lady at the Olympic

Part XII: IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY GHOSTWRITER… Originally published August 23, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of...

Jul 28, 202313 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Pauline at the Olympic

PART XI: A PROFITABLE PERIOD OF UNEMPLOYMENT [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries examining Anna Cora Mowatt’s...

Jul 28, 202317 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Pauline at the Princess

PART X: ANNA CORA’S NO GOOD VERY BAD LONDON DEBUT Originally posted August 9, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of...

Jul 28, 202318 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Pauline in England

PART IX: A CHILLY RECEPTION IN MANCHESTER Originally posted Aug. 2, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries...

Jul 28, 202314 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt, Pauline, and the Road to England

PART VII: THE CLIMB UP AND ELLEN TREE Originally posted July 19, 2021 [This is a continuation of my multi-part series of entries...

Jul 26, 202312 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and E.L. Davenport – Part IV

DAVENPORT – THE STORIES – Part III Originally posted on May 17, 2021 I’m going to wind up my collection of stories about E.L. Davenport...

Jul 26, 202311 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and E.L. Davenport – Part I

DAVENPORT, THE ACTOR Originally posted April 26, 2021 Had she not taken on Edward Loomis Davenport as an acting partner in the fall of...

Jul 5, 20239 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and a Pair of “Breeches”

Originally published Nov. 30, 2020 As a woman who simultaneously achieved international fame as both a playwright and an actress, Anna...

Jul 5, 20233 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt in the Forest of Arden - Addendum

Originally posted Nov. 29, 2020 While researching for this week’s blog, I found – as I frequently do – information that I wish I could...

Jul 5, 202318 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt in the Forest of Arden

Originally published Nov. 16, 2020 There is perhaps no more perfect encapsulation of the ambiguity of the Victorian stance towards the...

Jul 5, 202310 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and Her Lady Romeos – Part II

Originally published Nov. 6, 2020 Last week, listening to several interviews with Tana Wojczuk, author of a new book on the life of...

Jul 4, 20236 min read

Anna Cora Mowatt and the Lady Romeos – Part I

Originally published on Nov. 9, 2020 Periodically, theatre historians seem to re-discover Charlotte Cushman. A new volume on her life and...