ABSTRACT
The Ellen Terry's memoirs invoke the presence of the American thespian Velona Pilcher in her sphere during her later years. The commentary added to the memoirs for their publication after Terry's death by Christopher St John and Edith Craig described Pilcher as a young writer and one of those lonely people who wouldn't otherwise see a turkey or a pudding whom Terry had urged her daughter Edith Craig to invite. In examining Pilcher's place in Terry's circle, this chapter offers some new insights into women's contributions to avant-gardism in the performing arts in Britain, notably in the period of Terry's final five years. Pilcher also depicted Terry as a player of the past, but one who can still come to life in the present as described in the final dancing scene. There is a religious dimension to the way that Pilcher presents her interaction with Terry, as if some kind of wordless benediction is being bequeathed.
