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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Henry Irving
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(stage name of John Henry Brodribb, 1838–1905, kt 1895) The outstanding actor of the late-Victorian theatre, and the first in his profession to be awarded a knighthood. Several years of touring in the provinces were followed by appearances in London from 1866, but his first major success was with a play and in a theatre central to his career; at the Lyceum in 1871, performing in his own production of a *melodrama (The Bells by Leopold Lewis), he achieved a run of 150 nights. He made the Lyceum famous, managing it from 1879 to 1901 with Ellen *Terry as his leading lady. Shakespeare was the mainstay of their joint fame, but many modern plays were produced and The Bells remained in the repertory to the end; Irving's acting was mannered and melodramatic in style, and such a play evidently suited him. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
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