Life on the Victorian Stage by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / General
ISBN: 9781473882454
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2017-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Breaches of Promise

Breach of promise was a similar type of tort to the ‘crim con’ covered in the last chapter, only it involved couples who had never married. It involved a woman who believed she was going to be married, only to be let down by her young man.1 There were several cases reported in the press that involved actresses bringing suits against young men. These frequently, although not always, involved actresses who were involved with men of fortune; such relationships guaranteed the actress some financial security while they lasted – but if she was let down, she might attempt to shame the man and regain at least some of that financial security through the bringing of an action for breach of promise of marriage.

This was the case, for example, with an unnamed actress who won her case against ‘the nephew of a well-known member of parliament for a Yorkshire borough’ in 1894 and with a 22-year-old actress, Rosa Vaile, who brought a case against Herbert Merrion, 28, in the London Court of Exchequer in 1873.2 Vaile was described as a ‘young lady of some personal attractions’ who had worked primarily in the provincial theatres – in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. With two of her sisters, she performed under the name of The Sisters Fanchette.3 Her young man, Herbert, was ‘entitled, it was said, to considerable property on the death of his mother and uncle’ – in other words, he was heir to a fortune. The couple had met in Kent, when Herbert was undertaking some business for his wealthy uncle in Gravesend and Rosa Vaile was acting at Rosherville. He had visited her at her parents’ house and wooed her parents too – telling her mother that he was ‘very much struck’ with the actress and highlighting his good prospects to Rosa’s father, wine merchant Joseph Vaile.4 He had stressed, apparently, that his mother was ‘almost dead’ and that when she was, he would have money. They said they regarded him as their daughter’s suitor, especially when he turned up with several rings, asking Rosa to choose the one she’d like. However, he was clear that this wasn’t a wedding ring, for he said when they married, he would buy her a more expensive one. He called her parents ‘Pa’ and ‘Ma’ and when ‘Pa’ died at Bradford, where his ‘Rosey’ was performing at one of the local theatres, he promised to ‘erect a marble memorial’ to remember him by.5 However, he not only failed to marry her: he married another woman, one Frances Pike, in the summer of 1873 instead.

Rosa duly brought an action against him, where she described how she and her three sisters had been appearing at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Liverpool, when Herbert followed them there and ‘renewed his promise’ to her. He had then accompanied the sisters and their mother around the country as they toured – to Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield and other towns. But it also emerged that Rosa’s mother

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.