Edwin Forrest was the foremost American actor of the nineteenth century. His advocacy of American, and specifically Jacksonian, themes made him popular in New Yorks Bowery Theatre. His rivalry with the English tragedian William Charles Macready led to the Astor Place Riot, and his divorce from Catharine Sinclair Forrest was one of the greatest social scandals of the period. This full-length biography examines Forrests personal life while acknowledging the impossibility of separating it from his public image. Included is a historical chronology of every known performance the actor gave.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: A Biography
One: The spouting schoolboy
Two: One continuous struggle
Three: What a mountain of a man!
Four: You have sent for me and I have come
Five: Forrest and Bird: The Gladiator, the Peruvian and the Broker
Six: The Grand Tour
Seven: If I fail, I fail
Eight: Private Life and New Roles
Nine: The Second English Tour
Ten: Domestic Life in America
Eleven: Forrest Versus Macready
Twelve: The Astor Place Riot
Thirteen: Not So Private Lives
Fourteen: There is no finality to the law, until they hang a man
Fifteen: Melodrama is his true field
Sixteen: Touring During the Civil War
Seventeen: The Veteran does not lag superfluous on the stage
Eighteen: I am busy and do not desire to be disturbed
Nineteen: Steady me and let me go on
Part II: A Performance History
Sources for Performance History
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
The late Arthur W. Bloom was a retired professor of theatre and administrator at several public and private American universities. He is the author of biographies of Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth, and Edwin Forrest.
