Mrs. Goodall

Book Description

London: Published by R. Sayer & Co. Fleet Street, Nov. 20, 1789. Stipple, colour printed a la poupée. Printed on wove paper. Collectors blindstamp of a star in left margin. Collectors mark not identified in Lugt but attributed to the eighteenth century. In excellent condition. 9 x 7 3/8 inches. 17 x 11 9/16 inches. This charming colour-printed portrait by Robert Laurie depicts the celebrated actress Charlotte Goodall in the character of Adeline in "The Battle of Hexham". Charlotte Goodall (1766- 1830) was the daughter of Stanton, who managed a "sharing company" in Staffordshire. She joined the stage at an early age, and made her first successful début in Bath as Rosalind in "As You Like It." She made a name for herself as a Shakespearean actress in the provinces and quickly joined Kemble's Drury Lane theatre in London. She was primarily a supporting actress, working with such noted thespians as Mrs. Farren and Mrs. Jordan, but she was known for her roles in "breechers parts," playing such noted cross-dressers as Viola in "Twelfth Night," and Adeline in George Coleman's "The Battle of Hexham." It is in this celebrated role, as the cross-dressing Adeline, that Laurie depicts Mrs. Goodall. "The Battle of Hexham" was a three-act musical drama in which an abandoned wife, Adeline, disguises herself as a soldier in order to search for her fugitive husband, Gondibert. Dictionary of National Biography; O'Donoghue, Catalogue of Engraved British Portraits... in the British Museum 4; Lugt, Les Marques de Collections 2872.

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