
THE STORY OF MY LIFE - RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS - BY - ELLEN TERRY
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
INTRODUCTION
THE STORY OF MY LIFE - I - A CHILD OF THE STAGE - 1848-1856
II. ON THE ROAD - 1859-1861
III. ROSSETTI, BERNHARDT, IRVING - 1865-1867
IV. A SIX-YEAR VACATION - 1868-1874
V. THE ACTRESS AND THE PLAYWRIGHT - THE END OF MY APPRENTICESHIP - 1874
VI. A YEAR WITH THE BANCROFTS
VII. EARLY DAYS AT THE LYCEUM
In this candid memoir, a renowned stage actress opens a window onto a life lived under footlights and in the quiet moments between performances. She confesses the difficulty of recalling the past, describing her once‑filled diaries as a tangled collage of clippings, letters, photographs, and dried flowers that now lie in ashes. The narrative begins with her struggle to turn those fragments into a coherent story, inviting listeners to share her wonder at how memory both illuminates and obscures.
From her teenage debut to the celebrated partnerships that defined an era, she offers vivid snapshots of rehearsals, backstage camaraderie, and the personalities who shaped the theatre world. Her reflections are peppered with humor and humility, revealing the personal cost of a fifty‑year career while celebrating the joy of embodying countless characters. Listeners will feel the pulse of a bygone stage, heard through the honest voice of a woman who has finally decided to let her recollections speak.
Language
en
Duration
~11 hours (656K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Suzanne Shell, Linda Cantoni and PG Distributed Proofreaders
Release date
2004-05-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1847–1928
One of the great stars of the Victorian stage, she became famous for Shakespeare and for her long partnership with actor-manager Henry Irving. Her life stretched from child performer to international celebrity, and her influence on theatre lasted well beyond her own era.
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