LEADER 04370nam 2200721 a 450 001 9910788595603321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-283-89801-2 010 $a0-8122-0689-4 024 7 $a10.9783/9780812206890 035 $a(CKB)3240000000064535 035 $a(OCoLC)794700704 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10642216 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000631041 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11389401 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000631041 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10590715 035 $a(PQKB)11641960 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse17937 035 $a(DE-B1597)449480 035 $a(OCoLC)1013947371 035 $a(OCoLC)1029829703 035 $a(OCoLC)979724284 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780812206890 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3441881 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10642216 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL421051 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3441881 035 $a(EXLCZ)993240000000064535 100 $a20090717d2010 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aRival queens$b[electronic resource] $eactresses, performance, and the eighteenth-century British theater /$fFelicity Nussbaum 210 $aPhiladelphia $cUniversity of Pennsylvania Press$dc2010 215 $a1 online resource (392 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-8122-2301-2 311 $a0-8122-4233-5 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [339]-363) and index. 327 $aIntroduction: at stage's edge -- The economics of celebrity -- Real, beautiful women: rival queens -- Actresses' memoirs: exceptional virtue -- Actresses and patrons: the theatrical contract -- The actress and performative property: Catherine Clive -- The actress, travesty, and nation: Margaret Woffington -- The actress and material femininity: Frances Abington -- Epilogue: contracted virtue. 330 $aIn eighteenth-century England, actresses were frequently dismissed as mere prostitutes trading on their sexual power rather than their talents. Yet they were, Felicity Nussbaum argues, central to the success of a newly commercial theater. Urban, recently moneyed, and thoroughly engaged with their audiences, celebrated actresses were among the first women to achieve social mobility, cultural authority, and financial independence. In fact, Nussbaum contends, the eighteenth century might well be called the "age of the actress" in the British theater, given women's influence on the dramatic repertory and, through it, on the definition of femininity.Treating individual star actresses who helped spark a cult of celebrity-especially Anne Oldfield, Susannah Cibber, Catherine Clive, Margaret Woffington, Frances Abington, and George Anne Bellamy-Rival Queens reveals the way these women animated issues of national identity, property, patronage, and fashion in the context of their dramatic performances. Actresses intentionally heightened their commercial appeal by catapulting the rivalries among themselves to center stage. They also boldly challenged in importance the actor-managers who have long dominated eighteenth-century theater history and criticism. Felicity Nussbaum combines an emphasis on the actresses themselves with close analysis of their diverse roles in works by major playwrights, including George Farquhar, Nicholas Rowe, Colley Cibber, Arthur Murphy, David Garrick, Isaac Bickerstaff, and Richard Sheridan. Hers is a comprehensive and original argument about the importance of actresses as the first modern subjects, actively shaping their public identities to make themselves into celebrated properties. 606 $aWomen in the theater$zGreat Britain$xHistory$y18th century 606 $aTheater and society$zGreat Britain$xHistory$y18th century 606 $aActresses$zGreat Britain$vBiography 610 $aCultural Studies. 610 $aGender Studies. 610 $aLiterature. 610 $aWomen's Studies. 615 0$aWomen in the theater$xHistory 615 0$aTheater and society$xHistory 615 0$aActresses 676 $a792.02/8082094109033 700 $aNussbaum$b Felicity$0165911 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910788595603321 996 $aRival queens$93777024 997 $aUNINA