SIDDONS, Sarah.

£2,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Story of our First Parents, selected from Milton's Paradise Lost. First edition, second issue, presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on an initial blank, "To Sally Siddons, from her affectionate Grandmother". Siddons dominated the London theatre scene from 1782 to 1812: she performed the role of Hamlet nine times over thirty years and was venerated across the country in her most iconic role, Lady Macbeth.Sarah Siddons (née Kemble, 1755-1831) established herself "as the most acclaimed tragic actress of her own age, and she has subsequently been widely regarded as the greatest female performer in English theatrical history. In her own lifetime she achieved the status of a popular icon, playing a key role in the social legitimation of the acting profession, moving from the reputedly disreputable world of provincial touring theatre to the salons of the aristocracy, and amassing substantial personal wealth... Siddons's Lady Macbeth continues to be regarded as the one against which all later interpretations have been judged" (ODNB). Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of Siddons, painted in 1785, hangs in the National Gallery.Siddons gave public readings of Paradise Lost after she retired from the stage, and writes that this abridgement "was made several years ago for the purpose of being read to my children... it was calculated to afford occupation and amusement for four evenings". The book was issued earlier the same year under the title An Abridgement of Paradise Lost

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