Lady Romeo

Starred review from May 15, 2020
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.

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May 25, 2020
Guernica editor Wojczuk debuts with a brisk and vivid biography of actor Charlotte Cushman (1816–1876), who captivated audiences while breaking 19th-century America’s strict gender rules. Born to a middle-class family in Boston, Charlotte dropped out of school at age 13 and worked in her mother’s boardinghouse after her father abandoned the family. After a series of disastrous performances in her brief singing career, Cushman leapt at the opportunity to play Lady Macbeth in 1836; the role launched her to fame at a time when unescorted women weren’t allowed in theater audiences. In the 1840s, Cushman earned acclaim for her performances as Romeo (alongside her younger sister, Susan, as Juliet) in London and made a successful U.S. tour in which she portrayed both male and female characters, including Cardinal Wolsey in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII and the prostitute Nancy from Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist. After falling in love with the writer Matilda Hays, Cushman moved to Rome—where the two lived openly as a couple—and established a network of female artists, before succumbing to breast cancer. Wojczuk enriches her portrait with lively theater gossip and detailed discussions of 19th-century class, social, and gender codes. This enthralling history restores Cushman to her rightful place in the spotlight. Agent: Kiele Raymond, the Thompson Literary Agency. (July)Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated Matilda Hays's last name.