Her Hour Upon the Stage: A Study of Anne Bracegirdle, Restoration Actress

It has always been for me a personal source of regret that so much dramatic art is wasted, so to speak, on the unknowing times . The performances of many actors and actresses have often been of greater creative value and artistic invention than the efforts of the playwrights themselves. Yet the annals of history preserve, for all time, the written word, while the sound and emotion of great acting is lost with its moment. Only the scant impressions of the casual playgoer survive to bring back a faded view of what glory the stage must have known when great talents graced its boards