Browse Items (166 total)

  • Tags: gender norms/bending

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to King, n.d.

Harvard MS Thr 130. CC to King about article.pdf
Cushman mocks the gendered criticism of her figure and riding skills. Credit Houghton Library

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Mary Devlin Booth

Cushman talks about acting as Hamlet and fears she caught an inflammation of the throat. Her engagement was cut short, most likely because Edwin Booth will play the part of Hamlet after her. She asks Mary to have Edwin commission a pattern of the…

"Editors' Table," Godey's Lady's Book, Jan 1840 to Dec 1877

Editor's Table 1.pdf
"Editor's Table" is a column in Godey's Lady's Book that covers a vast variety of topics, often relating to women's issues in some way. Recurring topics include book recommendations and literary reviews, short biographies of public figures and…

Athenaeum, Cushman Mentions, Jan-June 1845 (Vol. 1)

1845. Athenaeum v.1 - Omeka.pdf
Excerpts from the Athenaeum issues from the first half of 1845, which mention Charlotte Cushman;The passage praise Cushman as a versatile genius on stage despite at times gender-bending practices. The first volume of 1845 shows how the British press…

"The Connoisseur", Northern Star, Aug 16, 1845

1845. Northern Star. Comparison to Macready.pdf
This article compares Charlotte Cushman with William Macready and discusses how they share a strong resemblance in both performance and physical appearance. Credit The British Library Newspapers,Gale Digital Collections

Letter from Charlotte Cushman to George Combe, Nov 21, 1845

NLS, ms7275, 28, Charlotte Cushman to George Combe, Nov 21, 1845.pdf
Cushman presents herself as shocked and surprised at the "gross motive [that] might be attributed" to her performance of Romeo on stage together with her sister Susan: "your hints have only plunged me into trouble — for I find the subject, in a new…

Romeo and Juliet Performance, Haymarket Theatre, London, Dec 30, 1845

RomeoJuliet.png
Charlotte Cushman performs as Romeo and her sister takes over the role of Juliet.Cushman's performance as Romeo is generally met with wild enthusiasm. There were, however, also critical voices, among them Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855). Mitford was…

"The Theatres", Era, Jan 4, 1846

1846. The Era. Romeo Performance.pdf
This is a long, detailed review of Charlotte and Susan Cushman's performance of Romeo and Julietat the Haymarket Theatre in London. The review contains high praise of Charlotte Cushman and her talents as an actress and the Cushman sisters' appearance…

Letter from Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Jan 31, 1846

Robert Browning tells Elizabeth Barrett about seeing Cushman and her sister on stage, performing Romeo & Juliet: "I went last night, out of pure shame at a broken promise,-to hear Miss Cushman & her sister in "Romeo and Juliet"-the whole play…

"Theatre Royal", Freeman's Journal, Mar 17, 1846

1846. Freemans Journal. Masculine Features.pdf
This article reviews Charlotte Cushman's performance as Lady Macbeth. She is praised for her powerful interpretation of the character compared to the rather "feminine" portrayals from other contemporary actresses. However, the article states that…

Howitt's The Miss Cushmans (1846)

1846. People's Journal. NYPL Stead Article. Howitt about Cushmans.pdf
In this biographical article, Mary Howitt recounts events from Charlotte Cushman's life and emphasizes her personal virtues, her talent on stage and the struggles she faced in her career. She describes Cushman's long and painful struggle to success,…

"First Impressions of Cushman's Romeo", People's Journal, Vol 2, July 18, 1846

1846. People's Journal vol. 2. Romeo Review.pdf
This is a review of Charlotte Cushman's performance as Romeo at the Haymarket Theatre in London. The article praises her performance and compares it to that of William Macready. However, her fine qualities as actress are also deemed by the article as…

Wemyss's Twenty-Six Years of the Life of an Actor and Manager (1847)

Wemyss (1847)_Twenty-six years of the life of an actor and manager - Omeka excerpt.pdf
Francis Courtney Wemyss is an actor and theater manager. The entry for Cushman envisions her as a business woman that cleverly paved her way to success by acquiring knowledge about the profession of an actress and the respective people involved in…

"The Misses Cushman", Manchester Times, Jan 22, 1847

1847. Manchester Times. Mary Howitts Article Sold as Memoir.pdf
This article contains the review of Charlotte and Susan Cushman's performances in Romeo and Juliet at the Theatre Royal in London and mentions a few other of Cushman's performances as comparison. It also reports that the biographical article written…

Criticism of Cushman's Performance as Romeo, May 29, 1847

1847. Fletcher_ Studies of Shakespeare.pdf
Article or chapter that is dismissive of the Cushman sisters performing Romeo and Juliet; The article describes the 1845 performance as "disgustingly monstrous grossness of such a perversion" by the "transatlantic sisters." Without mentioning their…

"Theatres, etc.", Era, Oct 10, 1847

1847. The Era. Resemblance Macready and Cushman, Absence of Beauty.pdf
This article contains a detailed review of Charlotte Cushman's perfomance as Lady Macbeth in the Princess' Theatre alongside William Macready. Cushman and Macready are compared on the basis of appearance and performance and Cushman is thoroughly…

Letter from Jane Welsh Carlyle to Thomas Carlyle, [April 7, 1848]

Jane Carlyle mentions that Geraldine Jewsbury is having a good time with Charlotte Cushman, Matilda Hays, and W.E. Forster. Credit The Carlyle Letters Online/CLO

Excerpt from Grace Greenwood's "Sketch from Life" (1849)

NYPL Misc. A Sketch from Life. Omeka.pdf
Greenwood writes a sketch about Henry Elliot. The (auto)biographical account is published by Sara Josepha Hale in an edited collection called The Opal: A Pure Gift for the Holy Days (1849). Credit New York Public Library

"Rogers (the poet) and the Misses Cushman", Northern Star, Dec 8, 1849

1849. The Northern Star. Why dont you marry your sister.pdf
This short entry concerns the rumours about Susan Cushman's wedding and Samuel Roger's wife's remark that the former should marry her sister Charlotte Cushman. Credit NCSE: Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition

Letter from Grace Greenwood to James Fields, Apr 22, 1850

Huntington, JTFP, Box 40, FI 1753, SJL to JF, Apr 22, 1850.pdf
Greenwood states that Fields remains the same individual in her eyes, even if he is a married man.She asks him to write Willis regarding the portrait, which should no longer be delayed, and informs him that she will send the first proofs by express…