"Our Mary": The Stage Life of Mary Anderson

"Our Mary" is the story of Mary Anderson's rapid rise to stage stardom beginning at the age of seventeen years. From her first appearance on the stage in her hometown Louisville, KY, she garnered both praise and criticism for her acting ability, while her youthfulness, physical attraction and upstanding moral character helped promote national popularity. Her image was found in hundreds of thousands of homes in the forms of photographic images and other printed media. Her American fame took her to London where she captivated British audiences and won their hearts to the point that when she retired from the stage in 1889 she took up permanent residence in England. Her story is that of a young woman who asserted herself at a remarkably early age and managed to obtain her ambitions while maintaining a reputation free from flaw. Her story is recounted from her own memoirs, writings of various critics and the reportage gleaned from hundreds of newspaper archives. Her actual stage career was a small part of a long life (1859-1940) but is a fascinating story and window into the theater of a different time.