Ellen Terry

Ellen Terry is perhaps the most celebrated English actress of the 19th century, and the best known member of the talented theatrical Terry family, today represented by her great-nephew Sir John Gielgud. On the stage from the age of eight, Ellen was a rebellious young woman, passing through much emotional turmoil - including a failed marriage to the artist G.F. Watts, and a longer relationship with the architect Edward Godwin - before joining Henry Irving's Lyceum company in 1878. During her long association with Irving she played many Shakespearean heroines, notably Portia and Beatrice, and became a revered Victorian icon in spite of having two illegitimate children. This biography gives a concise account of Terry's life and examines her reputation as the greatest English actress of the Victorian stage.