23 Facts About Fanny Kemble

Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble was a British actress from a theatre family in the early and mid-19th century.

Fanny Kemble's was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist, whose published works included plays, poetry, eleven volumes of memoirs, travel writing and works about the theatre.

Fanny Kemble's was a niece of the noted tragedienne Sarah Siddons and of the famous actor John Philip Kemble.

Fanny Kemble was born in London and educated chiefly in France.

In 1821, Fanny Kemble departed to boarding school in Paris to study art and music as befitted the child of the most celebrated artistic family in England at that time.

Related searches

Fanny Kemble's was not only a poet, but according to Mary Russell Mitford, "she had a knack of making poetesses of her pupils".

On 26 October 1829, at the age of 20, Fanny Kemble first appeared on the stage as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden Theatre, after only three weeks of rehearsals.

Fanny Kemble's played all the principal women's roles of the time, notably Shakespeare's Portia and Beatrice, and Lady Teazle in Richard Brinsley Fanny Kemble'sridan's The School for Scandal.

Fanny Kemble disliked the artificiality of stardom in general, but appreciated the salary which she accepted to help her family in their frequent financial troubles.

In 1832, Fanny Kemble accompanied her father on a theatrical tour of the United States.

Fanny Kemble's had previously accompanied George Stephenson on a test of the Liverpool and Manchester, prior to its opening in England, and described this in a letter written in early 1830.

Fanny Kemble retired from her acting career upon her marriage in 1834, but after her separation, she returned to acting as a solo platform performer, beginning her first American tour in 1849.

Fanny Kemble's performed in Britain and in the United States, concluding her career as a platform performer in 1868.

Fanny Kemble made trips to the plantations during the early years of their marriage, but never took Kemble or their children with him.

Fanny Kemble was shocked by the living and working conditions of the slaves and their treatment by the overseers and managers.

Fanny Kemble's tried to improve matters, complaining to her husband about slavery and about the mixed-race slave children attributed to the overseer, Roswell King, Jr.

Apart from their disagreements over slave treatment on Butler's plantations, Fanny Kemble was "embittered and embarrassed" by Butler's marital infidelities.

Fanny Kemble's returned to the theatre and toured major US cities, giving successful readings of Shakespeare plays.

Fanny Kemble's lived in London and was active in society, befriending the writer Henry James.

Fanny Kemble wrote two plays, Francis the First and The Star of Seville .

Fanny Kemble's published the first volume of her memoirs, Journal, in 1835, shortly after her marriage.

In 1863 Fanny Kemble published a volume of plays, including translations from Alexandre Dumas, pere and Friedrich Schiller.

Fanny Kemble's published Notes on Some of Shakespeare's Plays, based on long experience in acting and reading his works.