An annotated edition of the selected correspondence of Maud, Lady Tree: 1880-1917

Maud Beerbohm Tree (1858-1937) was the actress wife of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of Her Majesty's Theatre and its manager from 1897-1917. This thesis consists of an annotated edition of 167 previously unpublished letters written by or to Maud between 1880 and 1917, the year of her husband's death. The correspondence is organized chronologically, highlighting pivotal career events. The majority of the letters are written to Maud by various literary, theoretical and political personalities with whom she was professionally involved, and reflect the scope and variety of her engagement with the theatrical profession and the wider world during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Annotation seeks to place the letters in chronological sequence, identify correspondents and other people referred to in the letters, gloss literary and theatrical allusions, and provide broader cultural and historical contextualization where necessary. The Appendices consist of an index of recipients and brief biographies of principal correspondents to assist in clarification, illustrations, texts of some speeches, and a chronological list of Maud's stage and film appearances.

The letters are introduced by a detailed overview of Maud,s life and career designed to provide adequate contextualization for the selection as a whole. Section (i) of the Introduction, concentrates on Maud's philanthropic engagements and recitations and the role of her recitation of Kipling's The Absent-Minded Beggar in the development of her independent personal and professional profile. Section (ii) focuses on Tree's Shakespearean production, A Midsummer Night's Dream, to analyze Maud's acting capability, recording her first acting success in 1883. Section (iii) analyzes Maud's experience as theatre director of the Wyndham and her production of three plays: Caesar's Wife, Irish Assurance and Heard On the Phone. Section (iv) centres on Maud's performance as Paulina in The Winter's Tale and the car accident that ended her career as a Leading Lady. Finally, Section (v) discusses the significance of a later role in Diplomacy, war work, and Maud's 1916 film debut in Still Waters Run Deep.