My thanks to Pen & Sword for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Actresses of the Restoration Period:
Mrs Elizabeth Barry and Mrs Anne Bracegirdle’
by Susan Margaret Cooper.

This work of cultural history focuses on the British theatre following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and especially on the lives and times of two of the Restoration’s most celebrated actresses: Mrs Elizabeth Barry and Mrs Anne Bracegirdle.

The author draws on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, including transcriptions taken from contemporary works, letters, poems and wills. As with the other nonfiction history titles from this publisher, there are notes, a bibliography, and an index. There is also a repertoire of plays performed by Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Bracegirdle and various photographs of portraits and the like.

Susan Margaret Cooper is a researcher and author whose work focuses on Britain during the 17th-18th Century. I found her writing both academic and accessible.

I am quite interested in the history of the theatre as well as in this period of British history and this title proved very informative.

As a lover of history, the Restoration period is one that I have seldom ventured into but was drawn by the premise of this piece of microhistory in which we are provided an insight into the women who began to lead the stage during the resurrected Stuart Era.

Deeply researched, I was captured by the author's clear enthusiasm and passion that shone from the passages and therefore made me appreciate learning about this new information all the more.

As a beginner, the background of theatre within Stuart Britain being comprehensively evaluated was invaluable and fascinating, but I would appreciate that if someone where more aware of the subject, perhaps this would be a bit repetitive for them. For me, it was a compelling introduction into a new foray of history.

The women selected and studied by the author were enthralling, having led such fascinating lives.

An interesting introduction exploring the social history of women in theatre.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley.

This was supposed to be a biography of two restoration actresses, Elizabeth Berry and Anne Bracegirdle. While it is clear that the author really knows her stuff, I feel the book has been mis-named. It was about the theatre in that period and I had very little sense of who these women were. I also found the text rather disjointed because there were constant insertions of primary source material; this shouldn't be something that irritated me, but it was; I found it hard going from the authors words to a poem about the theatre, or a letter, even epilogue to plays. It should have added to the atmosphere, but it actually just made it a bit of a stuggle.

2.5 rounded up.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

This books is entertaining, well researched and a good guid to theatre world in the Restoration time.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

An interesting look at the first women in England to tread the boards and the world they lived in. The Restoration period is endlessly fascinating and it was great to learn more about these trend-setting ladies.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an uncorrected proof of this book.

I was initially drawn to the book because I recently learned from a lecture a little bit about the theatre during the Stuart period and this book’s description sounded like an interesting extension of that.

I would first like to say that this book was incredibly well researched. It is clear that the author was in love with the topic they were studying and examining the relevant primary sources brought them joy.

However, the clear passion for the topic was not enough for me to actually finish this book. I made it 31% of the way through before I just had to give up.

First, the title of this book (which I know the author likely did not select) is a bit of a misnomer. This is more a book on the history of the theatre in Stuart Britain. At 31% I felt that I could name five facts about Elizabeth, one of the central focuses of the book. I feel this was due in part to the writing. This book felt a bit like a brief exploratory paragraph then a quote, then repeat switching on and off. Quotes and references are great, but with as many were in this book the plot became hard to follow.

For example, I felt the discussion of Little Berry’s ill health and death came out of nowhere. I will fully admit that I might have missed an earlier reference, but when it was brought up again all that is said on the subject is that her mother took 18 months off of acting due to her own ill health. Not too long after that the book is discussing different playwrights and how Elizabeth may have been romantically involved with them…and how one killed another. Why were so many sources quoted in the text? And more importantly what was there value to me as a reader?

It’s great we have a record of both the roles she played and the phrasing of the monologues but what does this tell me about Elizabeth as an actress or a person? Why are we quoting these at length?

I understand that documentation varies for the period by gender and class, but it felt that we spent a great deal of time on the men in Mrs. Berry’s life. That is why I think making this book about the theater more generally would have given a stronger framework for all of the research that clearly went into this topic.

This book bring to life two women who may not feature much in many history books but whose lives are so very fascinating. It is always pleasing to see such accounts as the lives of women offer such amazing insights into our history and, in the cases of these two women, into the history of the theatre in particular. It may seem quite niche but the book will appeal to those interested in social history, women’s history and the theatre, too.