The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Palmy Days of Nance Oldfield, by Edward
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Title: The Palmy Days of Nance Oldfield

Author: Edward Robins

Release Date: March 25, 2004 [eBook #11717]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PALMY DAYS OF NANCE OLDFIELD***

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THE PALMY DAYS OF NANCE OLDFIELD

BY

EDWARD ROBINS

WITH PORTRAITS

1898

[Illustration: Mrs. Oldfield the celebrated Comedian]

CONTENTS

I. FROM TAVERN TO THEATRE
II. AN ENTRE-ACTE
III. A BELLE OF METTLE
IV. MANAGERIAL WICKEDNESS
V. A DEAD HERO
VI. IN TRAGIC PATHS
VII. NANCE AT HOME
VIII. THE MIMIC WORLD
IX. "GRIEF A LA MODE"
X. THE BARTON BOOTHS
XI. THE FADING OF A STAR
APPENDIX

PORTRAITS

Frontispiece: Mrs. Anne Oldfield

Title-page: Mrs. Oldfield in the Character of Fair Rosamond

Colley Cibber in the Character of Sir Novelty Fashion

Robert Wilks

William Congreve

Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle

Mrs. Bracegirdle as the "Sultaness"

Joseph Addison

Mrs. Anne Oldfield

Mr. Mills, Mrs. Porter, Mr. Cibber

Sir John Vanbrugh

Sir Richard Steele

Barton Booth

THE PALMY DAYS OF NANCE OLDFIELD

CHAPTER I

FROM TAVERN TO THEATRE

"Out of question, you were born in a merry hour," says Don Pedro to
the blithesome heroine of "Much Ado About Nothing."

"No, sure, my lord," answers Beatrice. "My mother cried; but then
there was a star danced, and under that was I born."

Surely a star, possibly Venus, must have danced gaily on a certain
night in the year of grace 1683, when the wife of Captain Oldfield,
gentleman by birth and Royal Guardsman by profession, brought into the
busy, unfeeling world of London a pretty mite of a girl. 'Twas a year
of grace indeed, for the little stranger happened to be none other
than Anne Oldfield, whose elegance of manner, charm of voice and
action and loveliness of face would in time make her the most
delightful comedienne of her day. Perhaps she found no instant
welcome, this diminutive maiden who c