ABSTRACT
The question of the position of women in the theatre was a perennial topic of debate throughout the nineteenth century. Since 1662 and the restoration of the public theatre by the Letters Patent of Charles II, women had appeared as performers on the public stage. However, the idea of a ‘public woman’ became all too easily conflated with the perception that actresses were ‘sexual suspects’, women whose profession linked them to prostitution or the life of a ‘kept woman’, or a mistress to a theatrical patron. The selection of women writing about the theatre goes beyond the simple definition of critic to include commentary on the theatre by women of the theatre in public speaking engagements, not necessarily linked directly to new plays or productions.
