Lady Romeo

The Radical and Revolutionary Life of Charlotte Cushman, America's First Celebrity

By: Tana Wojczuk

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Finalist for a Lambda Literary Award

Finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction

Finalist for the Marfield Prize

For fans of Book of Ages and American Eve, this “lively, illuminating new biography” (The Boston Globe) of 19th-century queer actress Charlotte Cushman portrays a “brisk, beautifully crafted life” (Stacy Schiff, bestselling author of The Witches and Cleopatra) that riveted New York City and made headlines across America.

All her life, Charlotte Cushman refused to submit to others’ expectations. Raised in Boston at the time of the transcendentalists, a series of disasters cleared the way for her life on the stage—a path she eagerly took, rejecting marriage and creating a life of adventure, playing the role of the hero in and out of the theater as she traveled to New Orleans and New York City, and eventually to London and back to build a successful career. Her Hamlet, Romeo, Lady Macbeth, and Nancy Sykes from Oliver Twist became canon, impressing Louisa May Alcott, who later based a character on her in Jo’s Boys, and Walt Whitman, who raved about “the towering grandeur of her genius” in his columns for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. She acted alongside Edwin and John Wilkes Booth - supposedly giving the latter a scar on his neck that was later used to identify him as President Lincoln’s assassin - and visited frequently with the Great Emancipator himself, who was a devoted Shakespeare fan and admirer of Cushman’s work. Her wife immortalized her in the angel at the top of Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain; worldwide, she was “a lady universally acknowledged as the greatest living tragic actress.” Behind the scenes, she was equally radical, making an independent income, supporting her family, creating one of the first bohemian artists’ colonies abroad, and living publicly as a queer woman. And yet, her name has since faded into the shadows.

Now, her story comes to brilliant life with Tana Wojczuk’s Lady Romeo, an exhilarating and enlightening biography of the 19th-century trailblazer. With new research and rarely seen letters and documents, Wojczuk reconstructs the formative years of Cushman’s life, set against the excitement and drama of 1800s New York City and featuring a cast of luminaries and revolutionaries who changed the cultural landscape of America forever. The story of an astonishing and uniquely American life, Lady Romeo reveals one of the most remarkable forgotten figures in our history and restores her to center stage, where she belongs.

©2020 Tana Wojczuk. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Inspiring Bio About a Celebrity Forgotten

This was an engaging and eye-opening account of not just Cushman's life, but the nature of 19th century American-- and British-- theatre. Every theatre lover and performer should read it.
The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because the writer fails to mention Edmonia Lewis, another member of Cushman's entourage in Rome; Lewis was an African and Native American sculptor with a very interesting story of how she came to Rome. Lewis is how I actually first learned about Cushman, and I gave the book a listen. I'm so glad I did!

Wonderful!

I really enjoyed this book! What an interesting and inspiring life Charlotte Cushman led. This was very informative but not the least bit boring as other historical books can sometimes be. The narration was also great. Highly recommend!

Illuminating, listened straight through!

I have never heard of Charlotte Cushman before. I was entranced by Tana Wojczuk's writing and research of the captivating Cushman. Not only does this book describe the achievements of Charlotte Cushman, but it also tells of the intricate web of events that she was involved in with many esteemed people of the 1800's. Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln..... I loved the storyline. I loved learning about Cushman's family, her acting, the struggles and triumphs of being a strong independent woman, eventually becoming America's first true major celebrity. She is a long forgotten inspirational icon that definitely needs to be brought back into the forefront. Tana Wojczuk has done just that with this fascinating reconstruction of events. I loved this book!