Helena Cécile Ernstone was an English actress who appeared in London theatres from 1868 to 1879.

Biography

Ernstone was born Helena Schott, the daughter of Adam Joseph Schott (died 1864), German-born music publisher (B. Schott & Sohns

Schott Music

Schott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...

) and bandmaster in England. Her sister, Angie Schott, was an actress active in the U.S. in the 1870s.

Ernstone began her professional career in provincial theatres, playing the role of Geraldine in The Green Bushes in Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

 in 1867. She made her London debut in 1868 at Covent Garden as Katherine in Katherine and Petruchio. In 1869, she played in Cheltnam's Edendale at the opening of the Charing Cross Theatre. The Times wrote: "Among the novices are Miss Ernstone, from Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, a young lady of prepossessing appearance, who plays Ada Vandaleur... with much force". For the next ten years she appeared on the West End stage in juvenile leads. At the Olympic Theatre

Olympic Theatre

The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...

 later in 1869, she was Martha in Little Em'ly by Andrew Halliday

Andrew Halliday

Andrew Halliday [formerly Andrew Halliday Duff] was a Scottish journalist and dramatist.He was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in 1849 he went to London, and discarding the name of Duff, devoted himself to literature...

, based on Dickens's David Copperfield

David Copperfield (novel)

The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...

. The following year she moved to the Globe Theatre in Philomel, part of a double-bill with The Ticket-of-Leave Man, and in the same year, she appeared in Man o' Airlie with Hermann Vezin

Hermann Vezin

Hermann Vezin was an American actor, teacher of elocution and writer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania.-Biography:...

. Also in 1870, she created the part of Katie Maguire in Inisfallen by Edmund Falconer

Edmund Falconer

Edmund Falconer , also known as Edmund O'Rourke, was an Irish-born 19th century poet, actor, theatre manager, songwriter and playwright, known for his keen wit and outstanding acting skills.-Early life:...

 at the Lyceum Theatre, London and played Lizzie Hexham in another adaptation of a Dickens novel, Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...

, at the Opera Comique

Opera Comique

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...

. The Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

wrote of this production, "Her acting... is poetical in the highest sense.... If we mistake not, Miss Ernstone will occupy a distinguished position on the stage."

In 1873 at Astley's Theatre, Ernstone played the title role in The Fair Rosamond by Akhurst. That year, at the Olympic, she played Grace Roseberry in Wilkie Collins

Wilkie Collins

William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...

's The New Magdalen, followed the next year by Henriette in The Two Orphans by John Oxenford

John Oxenford

John Oxenford , English dramatist, was born at Camberwell, London, England.-Life:He began his literary career by writing on finance...

, with Henry Neville

Henry Gartside Neville

Thomas Henry Gartside Neville was an English actor, dramatist, teacher and theatre manager. He began his career playing dashing juvenile leads, later specialising in Shakespearean roles, modern comedy and melodrama. His most famous role was as Bob Brierley in Tom Taylor's The Ticket-of-Leave Man...

 and the young Rutland Barrington

Rutland Barrington

Rutland Barrington was an English singer, actor, comedian, and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his performing career spanned more than four decades...

. In 1875 she created the role of Ruth Leigh in The Detective at the Mirror Theatre (formerly the Holborn). The Times thought the play too long and called for drastic cuts, but added, "Miss Ernstone plays the devoted Ruth in so earnest a spirit that we cannot express without regret our fears that the part will be terribly reduced when the abbreviations of the piece are effected." In 1878 at the Haymarket Theatre

Haymarket Theatre

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...

, she played Olivia in Twelfth Night and returned to the Olympic in a revival of The Two Orphans. The following year, she appeared at the Olympic as Marguerite Duval in a melodrama called Mother and at the Standard Theatre as Margaret Wentworth in Henry Dunbar.