Edwardian Beauty

Discover the life of one of Edwardian England's most celebrated and revered musical comedy stars, Lily Elsie. From her childhood days in the music-halls of Salford and her rise to fame as the child singing star 'Little Elsie' to her arrival in London and association with the most poerful theatre impressario of the time, George Edwardes. Her rise to fame as Sonia in Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow in 1907, produced by Edwardes at Daly's Theatre, was acheived in spite of her lack of confidence and overwhelming stage fright that would leave her sick with nervous exhaustion. Her final years were spent in isolation, supported by a few close friends like Cecil Beaton, her personality eroded by mental health problems. She died alone in 1962, a tragic end to a life which had promised so much. In fact her life had been anything but merry from the very beginning.

This special hardback edition was created to celebrate the blue plaque that was finally placed on Lily Elsie's former London home at Stanhope Place, Hyde Park, in August 2019. The plaque was unveiled by West End actress and singer Rosemary Ashe accompanied by Roy Hudd OBE on what would turn out to be one of his last public engagements. It was a joyous day also attended by Victoria Willis, whose mother and grandmother were great friends of Lily Elsie. Her mother, Mrs. Sonia Berry, I was privileged to meet and she helped me to understand elements of Lily Elsie's life for this book and kindly wrote a foreword. This edition is dedicated to her memory.

The book was originally published under the title Anything But Merry! The Life & Times of Lily Elsie but we changed the title for a subsequent paperback edition at the suggestion of my agent Robert Smith and for this new hardback edition to update the information since the blue plaque was unveiled.