Uncaptioned: Reading "Rob Roy" or "In Memoriam" to the company's young actress, Miss Victoria Fitzurse by Charles Green in John Coleman's "Elfie: A Barrister's Story," serialised in The Graphic for 31 July and 7 August 1886, Vol. XXXIV, Nos. 870 and 871 (p. 145). 7.8 cm high by 8.8 cm or 3 ⅛ by 3 ⅜ inches wide, framed. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: The Player (John Erskine) rehearses with Miss Fitzurse
Miss Fiturse had two or three choice volumes of Tennyson and Mrs. Browning — then both new to me; and I found myself reading to her "In Memoriam," "OEnone," or "The Princess," or "Lady Geraldine's Courtship," or "The Sonnets, from Camoens," and she was an eager and delighted hearer.
At this distance of time I say, without vanity, that I had a musical and sympathetic voice and read well. Sometimes the inspired utterances of the poet brought tears in both our eyes, set our hearts beating, our pulses throbbing; when our eyes met, she crimsoned, I turned pale. [Instalment II, Part 3, "Romeo and Juliet," 145]
Commentary
Here Green realises a scene that immediately prepares the reader for the story's romantic triangle as young actor Ernest Denvil (the "barrister" of the extended reminiscence) takes a break from rehearsing a scene from Romeo and Juliet with the company's leading juvenile actress. His emotional response to the Tennyson and Browning texts is likely to be misinterpreted by both Victoria and Elfie.
The composition juxtaposes the image of the young actors with Coleman's introduction of Elfie's (supposed) rival right at the beginning of the second instalment: "with her fine person, and her splendid wardrobe, she was a great acquisition to our slender resources, and enabled us to play The Lady of Lyons [written by Bulwer-Lytton and first staged in 1838], [an adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's] The Bride of Lammermoor [1819], and other plays of an amatory and attractive character, with a certain amount of respectability" (145). Denvil recalls that, while her mother and brother seemed to enjoy the performances, Elfie rarely commented, except to express her dislike of the stylish, young actress, whom she undoubtedly perceived as a romantic rival — and perhaps, as the illustration suggests, with some cause.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Coleman, John. "Elfie: A Barister's Story — Part Two." The Graphic Magazine. Illustrated by Charles Green, R. I. No. 871, Vol. 34. 7 August 1886, pp. 145-146.
Created 4 May 2025