When Romeo Was a Woman by Lisa Merrill

At the height of her career, actress Charlotte Cushman (1816-1876) was one of the most famous women in the English-speaking world. She challenged Victorian ideas of gender in her portrayals of male characters and strong, androgynous women, and offstage she was a powerful businesswoman who supported her family, her women lovers and her friends. Drawing on Cushman's correspondence and unpublished archival material, Lisa Merrill sheds new light on her relationships and on women's 'romantic friendships,' showing how Cushman's androgynous presence became a symbol for contemporaries and exposed their contradictory attitudes toward female performers and same-sex desire. The book is illustrated with previously unpublished portraits of Cushman in roles including Romeo and Lady Macbeth, and photographs of her family, lovers and friends.