Fanny Kemble: A Reluctant Celebrity [Paperback]

Rebecca Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2006

Fanny Kemble was born into the most famous acting dynasty of the London stage. Unlike her aunt, the legendary Sarah Siddons, Fanny did not want to be an actress. However, when her father, the actor-manager of Covent Garden, faced bankruptcy in 1829, her appearance as Juliet made her a star. Touring America in 1832, Fanny met Philadelphian Pierce Butler and left the stage for love. Once a wife, she learned, to her horror, that the Butler wealth came from a slave plantation in Georgia. Challenging the conventions of her day and her husband, she insisted on speaking out—and discovered that marriage could not contain the independent woman she had become.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A vivid picture of a clever, vital, snobbish, and self-obsessed woman. -- The Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Rebecca Jenkins was born in Oxford and spent her childhood in England and Switzerland. After studying History at Somerville College, Oxford, she took up journalism and now freelances. She has previously written a historical detective novel, THE DUKE'S AGENT, based in Regency England, and is the co-writer of FREE TO BELIEVE. This is her first biography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743403991
• ISBN-13: 978-0743403993
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,779,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Woman of Great Importance, February 24, 2006

By 

As you like it "Shakespeare" (Cullercoats) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fanny Kemble: A Reluctant Celebrity (Hardcover)

Writer Rebecca Jenkins wonderful book on the life of 19th century actress and author
Fanny Kemble is definative.Her description of this period of theatrical history and background to the journey of Miss Kemble to America is superb.Her fascination for her subject is tangible, as is her admiration of this formidable woman who influenced the anti slavery movement profoundly by the power of her pen.She allows her subject to speak for herself - and what a voice !

5.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Slavery and Fame in the VIctorian Age, February 23, 2006

By 

Diane Roberts (Tallahassee, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fanny Kemble: A Reluctant Celebrity (Hardcover)

Fanny Kemble was the Gwyneth Paltrow of the early 19th century: a beautiful, renowned young actress from a theatrical family whose flamboyant doings filled the newspapers and fed the gossip. Fanny was a hot commodity on both sides of the Atlantic, though she had serious reservations about fame--Princess Diana and Lindsay Lohan weren't the first celebrities to be hounded by the paparazzi and the tabloids. On stage, Fanny was breathtaking, an icon; offstage, she was a bright, funny, sexy woman who--of course--fell in love with all the wrong men.
Rebecca Jenkins' sparkling biography tells not just Fanny's life story but conjures up the racy world of London acting, the drawing rooms of Philadelphia, and the steamy outrages of Georgia's plantations. Jenkins brings a novelist's craft to the story of a woman who played Juliet in the theatre and a slave mistress in real life. Her writing is both intelligent and vivacious and her research is impeccable. The book is a great page-turning read, too.