Review by Choice Review
This is a challenging and important study, one that forces reconsideration of previously accepted generalizations and myths regarding Victorian London theater audiences from 1840, just prior to the deregularization of London theaters, to 1880. Though Davis and Emeljanow reference numerous playhouses, they focus on seven representative theaters from four areas of London (south, north, east, and the West End). A masterful model of archival research, the study draws on public records, police reports, census returns, newspaper accounts, playbills, transport timetables, communications networks, biographies, autobiographies, diaries, etc. Although the authors admit the evidence is elusive and problematic, and that conclusions are informed speculation, they show persuasively that "mythic configurations dominate our received view of nineteenth-century British theatre," that "London theatre audiences in the mid-nineteenth century were so diverse that generic definitions are clearly inappropriate," and that "there was no such thing as a Victorian audience, but rather a variety of audiences, embodying a wide range of perspectives." Even though this book is not the last word on the topic, it belongs in all libraries serving upper-division undergraduates and will be a must for postgraduate investigations into 19th-century British theater. Includes notes and illustrations. D. B. Wilmeth Brown University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
