The first of Williams’s two volumes on French actresses, it tells six lives: Armande Béjart, Molière’s young and troublesome wife; Marie de Champmeslé, Racine’s leading lady; Adrienne Lecouvreur; the dancer Marie Camargo; the singer and actress Justine Favart; and the tragedienne Mademoiselle Clairon, with their lovers, rivalries and court patrons.
Lively theatrical history for readers of French society and the stage; the sequel is Later Queens of the French Stage. Download the free EPUB.