Dame Marie Tempest DBE (15 July 1864 – 15 October 1942) was an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".
Tempest became the most famous
sopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
in late
VictorianThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere. She was, at times, her own theatre manager during a career spanning 55 years. Tempest was also instrumental in the founding of the actors' union Equity in England.
Life and career
Tempest was born
Mary Susan Etherington in London. Her parents were Edwin Etherington (1838–1880), a stationer, and Sarah Mary Castle Etherington. Tempest was educated at Midhurst School and an
UrsulineThe Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
convent in Thildonck, Belgium. Later, she studied music in Paris, France and at the
Royal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London, as a singing pupil of
Manuel GarcíaManuel Patricio Rodríguez García , was a Spanish singer, music educator, and vocal pedagogue.-Biography:García was born on 17 March 1805 in the town of Zafra in Badajoz Province, Spain. His father was singer and teacher Manuel del Pópulo Vicente Rodriguez García...
, the tutor of
Jenny LindJohanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...
. She adopted as her stage name part of the name of Lady Susan Vane-Tempest, whom she referred to as her godmother. Tempest had a sister named Florence Etherington who married theatre manager Michael Levenston.
Tempest married Alfred Edward Izard, another student at the Academy, in 1885. That marriage ended in divorce four years later, but the couple had a son in 1888 named Norman, who would later be referred to in the press as "Norman Lennox", taking the surname of Tempest's second husband.
Early career
Tempest debuted in 1885 as Fiametta in Franz Suppé's operetta
Boccaccio at the Comedy Theatre in London, where she also took the title role in
ErminieErminie is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 Robert Macaire...
by
Edward JakobowskiEdward Jakobowski was an English composer best known for writing the comic opera Erminie. Jakobowski was a significant figure on the London musical stage during the last two decades of the 19th Century. He did not challenge Sullivan, nor quite equal Fred Clay or Alfred Cellier but his gift of...
. She starred steadily in London for the next two years in light operas by
HervéHervé , real name Louis Auguste Florimond Ronger, was a French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, whom Ernest Newman, following Reynaldo Hahn, credited with inventing the genre of operetta in Paris.-Life:Hervé was born in Houdain near Arras...
and
André MessagerAndré Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
, among others. She became internationally famous for her performance in the title role in
DorothyDorothy is a comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson. The story involves a rake who falls in love with his disguised fiancée.It was first produced at the Gaiety Theatre in London on in 1886...
by
Alfred CellierAlfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and...
and
B. C. StephensonBenjamin Charles Stephenson or B. C. Stephenson was an English dramatist, lyricist and librettist. After beginning a career in the civil service, he started to write for the theatre, using the pen name "Bolton Rowe". He was author or co-author of several long-running shows of the Victorian theatre...
(1887), which ran for a record-setting 931 performances (becoming a hit after Tempest took over the title role from
Marion HoodMarion Hood was an English soprano who performed in opera and musical theatre in the last decades of the 19th century...
). Her marriage was damaged by rumours of an affair with her producer, but the same rumours only enhanced her appeal to her audiences.
Richard D'Oyly CarteRichard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
considered engaging her for his
opera companyThe D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
but
W. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
(after seeing her in
Dorothy) reported that she "screeched", and the proposal was dropped.
In 1889, Tempest starred in Cellier and Stephenson's
DorisDoris is a "comedy opera" in three acts by Alfred Cellier, with a libretto by B. C. Stephenson. After the phenomenal success of Cellier and Stephenson's Dorothy , the pair were hoping for another big hit. Doris turned out to be only modestly successful.It opened at the Lyric Theatre in London on...
. The next year, in 1890, Tempest created the role of Kitty Carol in
The Red HussarThe Red Hussar is a comedy opera in three acts by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens, which opened at the Lyric Theatre in London on 23 November 1889, running for 175 performances. It was the revised version of an opera written several years earlier called The White Sergeant...
in London and then in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She then toured the United States and Canada for a year with the J. C. Duff Comic Opera Company in such operettas as
CarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
,
ManonManon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
,
MignonMignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
,
The Bohemian GirlThe Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Cervantes tale, La Gitanilla.The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843...
, and
The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
. She returned to Broadway for the next three years in numerous productions including
The Tyrolean,
The Fencing Master by DeKoven and Smith, and
The Algerian. During this period she was considered one of the few rivals of
Lillian RussellLillian Russell was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago...
. An American critic wrote in 1894, "Miss Tempest combines a voice of extraordinary pitch and sweetness with the dramatic fervor of an emotional actress to a greater degree probably than any other prima donna now upon the English speaking stage".
In 1895,
George EdwardesGeorge Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
bought her back to London to star in his
Daly's TheatreDaly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
productions, beginning with Adele in
An Artist's ModelAn Artist's Model is a two-act musical by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones, with additional songs by Joseph and Mary Watson, Paul Lincke, Frederick Ross, Henry Hamilton and Leopold Wenzel. It opened at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and...
, which ran for over 400 performances. This was followed by title roles in the even more successful
The GeishaThe Geisha, a story of a tea house is an Edwardian Musical Comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Philip....
(1896), which ran for 760 performances,
A Greek SlaveA Greek Slave is a musical comedy in two acts, first performed on 8 June 1898 at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and ran for 349 performances. The score was composed by Sidney Jones with additional songs by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross. The...
(1898) and another international hit,
San ToySan Toy, or The Emperor's Own is a "Chinese" musical comedy in two acts, first performed at Daly's Theatre, London, on 21 October 1899, and ran for 768 performances...
(1899). Tempest was a difficult star, and her arguments with Edwardes and some of her colleagues were well known. She felt that Edwardes was too strict and finally left
San Toy in 1900, reportedly over a quarrel concerning her costume.
1899 through World War I years
By 1899, Tempest had married again, to the actor-playwright Cosmo Stuart (Cosmo Charles Gordon-Lennox), the son of Lord Alexander Gordon-Lennox. On his advice, Tempest forsook operettas for straight comedy. In 1900 she created the role of Nell Gwynne in
Anthony HopeSir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
's
English Nell (based on
Simon Dale) at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in London, followed at the same theatre in 1901 by the title roles in
Peg Woffington by
Charles ReadeCharles Reade was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth.-Life:Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring; William Winwood Reade the influential historian , was his nephew. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford,...
and
Becky Sharp, an adaptation of
Vanity Fair, by Robert Hichens and her husband. The same year, she played Polly Eccles in T. W. Robertson's
Caste, followed in 1902 by the title role in
The Marriage of Kitty, also written by Stuart. These established her as a leading comedy actress, particularly when playing the type of vivacious lady in drawing room comedies that
TIME magazine called "a Marie Tempest part... a sprightly, well-bred matron, with a feline manner and a sharp tongue but a heart of gold."
Max BeerbohmSir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:...
described her as "one of the very few English actresses equipped for emotion".
After many more such roles at the
Duke of York's TheatreThe Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
and the Comedy Theatre, Tempest toured in America in 1904, reprising her role in
The Marriage of Kitty and in the title role of
The Freedom of Suzanne. She appeared in London in 1907 in
The Truth at the Comedy Theatre, written and directed by and starring
Dion BoucicaultDionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
, though "it is the acting of Miss Tempest that people will go to see," said
The ObserverThe 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,...
, "and they will not be disappointed". She also starred in
Alfred SutroAlfred Sutro OBE was a British author and dramatist.He was a translator and friend of Maeterlinck. Educated at the City of London School and in Brussels, he began his career with a series of translations of Maeterlinck's works, all of which except the dramas he translated from the French...
's
The Barrier in 1907. In 1908 Somerset Maugham's
Mrs. Dot provided her with arguably her finest role, followed by parts in
All-of-a-Sudden Peggy and
Penelope. She returned to America in 1909 for a two-year tour, and appearing in such plays as
Caste,
Vanity Fair, .
Returning to England in 1911, Tempest joined a star-studded cast for
Herbert Beerbohm TreeSir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
's production of
The CriticThe Critic: or, a Tragedy Rehearsed is a satire by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre in 1779. It is a burlesque on stage acting and play production conventions, and Sheridan considered the first act to be his finest piece of writing...
by
Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, also starring
Arthur BourchierArthur Bourchier was an English actor and theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh....
,
C. Hayden CoffinCharles Hayden Coffin was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes....
,
Lily ElsieLily Elsie was a popular English actress and singer during the Edwardian era, best known for her starring role in the hit London premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow....
,
George Grossmith, Jr.George Grossmith, Jr. was a British actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies...
, Charles Hawtrey,
Cyril MaudeCyril Francis Maude was an English actor-manager.-Biography:Maude was born in London and educated at the Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship City of Adelaide to regain his health...
,
Gerald Du MaurierSir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier was an English actor and manager. He was the son of the writer George du Maurier and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1902, he married the actress Muriel Beaumont with whom he had three daughters: Angela du Maurier , Daphne du Maurier and Jeanne...
,
Gertie MillarGertrude "Gertie" Millar was one of the most famous English singer-actresses of the early 20th century, known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies....
,
Edmund PayneEdmund Payne , was an actor, comedian, singer and dramatist best known for his comic appearances in Edwardian Musical Comedy. His father was Edmund Payne, a master cabinet builder and his mother was Eliza Payne née Ince....
,
Courtice PoundsCharles Courtice Pounds , better known by the stage name Courtice Pounds, was an English singer and actor known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his later roles in Shakespeare plays and Edwardian musical comedies.As a young member...
,
Violet VanbrughViolet Vanbrugh was an English actress who had a career spanning more than 50 years. Despite her many successes, her career was overshadowed by that of her more famous sister Irene Vanbrugh...
and
Arthur WilliamsArthur or Art Williams may refer to:*Arthur Williams , actor*Arthur Williams , Anglican colonial bishop*Arthur Williams , American boxer*Arthur Williams...
, among others. She then began to manage the theatres in which she starred. She leased The Duke of York's Theatre and produced a revival of
The Marriage of Kitty. She starred in her own productions in London theatres for the next few years. This followed in 1913 by the revival of
London Assurance, given in aid of the King George's Actors Pension Fund. She spent eight years, beginning in 1914, touring in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Singapore, China, Japan and the Philippines. One of her roles, in 1915, was the title role in
J. M. BarrieSir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
's
Rosalind. Barrie admired Tempest's ability to both laugh and cry, writing, "such a masterpiece at letting these two melt one into the other, not only upon her own face, but on the faces of all those in front".
Later years
Tempest finally returned to England via America in 1922, reviving
The Marriage of Kitty. Tempest's second husband had died in 1921, and she married again that same year, this time in Sydney, Australia to the actor
William Graham BrowneW. Graham Brown was an Irish actor who appeared on Broadway and in films during the early 20th century.- Biography :William Graham Brown was born in Ireland on January 1, 1870. He appeared on Broadway and in films during the early 20th century...
, who had accompanied her throughout her tour, and who regularly partnered her onstage in her subsequent
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
appearances. By the 1920s, Tempest had outgrown her troublesome temperament and moved into playing charming and elegant middle-aged women. In 1924 she took a singing part again in
Clifford BaxClifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...
's
Midsummer Madness at the
Lyric TheatreThe Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
. She created the role of Judith Bliss in
Noël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's
Hay FeverHay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
(1925), in which she was followed in later revivals by leading actresses from
Edith EvansDame Edith Mary Evans, DBE was a British actress. She was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty...
to
Judi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
. Her popularity continued in such shows as
Passing Brompton Road by Jevan Brandon-Thomas and
The Cat's Cradle by Aimee and Philip Stuart. She also had one more singing role in 1927 in
The Marquise, written for her by Coward. ("It is a dried and brittle little piece, but it frames the great actress adequately".) She then starred as Olivia in
Mr. Pim Passes By by
A. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
(1928),
The First Mrs Fraser by St. John Ervine (1929, giving 632 performances at the
Haymarket TheatreThe 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...
), and Fanny Cavendish in
Theatre Royal (1934).
In later years, Tempest became active in working for the good of the members of her profession. In 1934, she was instrumental in the founding of the actors' union Equity, when she hosted a dinner at the
Savoy HotelThe Savoy Hotel is a hotel located on the Strand, in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, the hotel opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by...
for 85 leading entertainers. On 28 May 1935, Tempest's golden jubilee was celebrated with a benefit performance at the
Theatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
attended by
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and
Queen MaryMary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
. The programme has tributes from among others,
J. M. BarrieSir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
, Noël Coward,
Edward GermanSir Edward German was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also...
and Somerset Maugham. Tempest appeared in one act each from
The Marriage of Kitty and
Little Catherine, two of her most popular roles. The proceeds of £5,000 from the event were donated to St. George's Hospital for use by members of the theatrical profession.
Coward wrote the following to
Hector Bolitho Hector Bolitho was a prolific author, novelist and biographer. In total, he had 59 books published.-Biography:...
, her biographer: "she wastes no time on personal inhibitions or inferiority complexes. In fact, she takes off her coat and gets down to the job of the moment with less shi-shi than any actress I have ever met.... Despite the fact that for fifty years she has performed a multitude of plays to multitudes of people, she has always contrived to remain the mistress of her tradition rather than allow any tradition to become the mistress of her."
She was created a
Dame Commander of the Order of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(DBE) in 1937, the same year in which her third husband, Graham Browne, died. The next year, she created the role of Dora Randolph in
Dodie SmithDorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith was an English novelist and playwright. Smith is best known for her novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. Her other works include I Capture the Castle and The Starlight Barking....
's play
Dear Octopus. She continued to act after this, though with less frequency. She toured Great Britain in
The First Mrs. Fraser with
A. E. MatthewsA.E. Matthews OBE was an English actor who played numerous character roles on the stage and in film for eight decades, and who became known for his longevity.-Biography:...
and
Barry MorseHerbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999...
in 1941, a year before her death. That same year, Tempest's home was bombed in London during the
BlitzThe Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, and she lost most of her possessions. She remarked, "Hitler has taken nearly everything from me but my life, but you can't live on regret".
She died in London in 1942 at the age of 78, and she was cremated at
Golders Green CrematoriumGolders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
. A
blue plaqueA blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
was placed at the site of her home at 24 Park Crescent in London.
Filmography
- 1900 - San Toy in San Toy
- 1915 - Mrs. Plum in Mrs. Plum's Pudding
- 1937 - Baroness Lindenborg in Moonlight Sonata
- 1938 - Jennifer Varwell in Yellow Sands
External links