LADY ROMEO

A biography of the 19th-century stage actress praised by Walt Whitman for the “towering grandeur of her genius.”

In the early years of American theater, women did not receive good roles; they often played prostitutes and harlots, and men characterized many of them that way offstage. Nonetheless, Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876), who “was often described as ‘mannish,’ ” was determined to become a famous actress, and she spent her life doing just that. Known throughout America and, later, abroad, she rose to heights that inspired envy among her male contemporaries. In this engaging and entertaining biography, Guernica senior nonfiction editor Wojczuk packs the narrative with well-chosen, vibrant details of Cushman’s life as she traveled and worked at a variety of theaters. “To men,” writes the author, “she embodied the man they wanted to be, gallant, passionate, an excellent sword-fighter. To women, she was a romantic, daring figure, their Romeo. American artists and writers who later became famous were starstruck by her, and she was a household name on two continents.” Early on, Cushman took simple roles, but her talents were soon appreciated, and she rose to the lead positions, playing her own renditions of Lady Macbeth and, later, Romeo, beating out other talented women. The author also respectfully discusses elements of Cushman’s private life, including her sexuality and the people with whom she spent much of her time, “an entourage of female friends, ambitious, unorthodox artists like herself who longed for more freedom than they could find in America or in England.” Regardless of Cushman’s intimacies outside the playhouse, both men and women loved her performances of classic Shakespeare roles, which she embodied with new energy, making them accessible to the masses. Wojczuk successfully reinvigorates this significant 19th-century artist.

An animated, refreshingly vivid biography of a woman who made the stage her home.