Lucy Isabella Buckstone (September 1857 – 17 March 1893) was an English actress born to a noted British stage family. She was perhaps best remembered for her portrayals of Annette in the Leopold David Lewis drama '' The Bells'', and Lucy Ormond in ''Peril'' by

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

and Stephenson. She began her stage career about 1875 and continued acting into the early 1890s.

Life and career

Buckstone was born in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

to the actor-manager John Baldwin Buckstone and his wife, Isabella Copeland Buckstone. Her 11 siblings included brothers John Copeland Buckstone and Rowland (born 1860). All three siblings would eventually follow their father into acting careers. Buckstone made her first appearance on stage at the Croydon Theatre as Gertrude in

Augustus Harris Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris (18 March 1852 – 22 June 1896) was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist, a dominant figure in the West End theatre, West End theatre of the 1880s and 1890s. Born into a theatrical family, Harris brief ...

's ''The Little Treasure''. She first appeared at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

on 26 December 1875 as Ada Ingot in ''

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

'', and later played Florence Trenchard in ''

Our American Cousin ''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...

'' and Lucy Dorrison in ''Home'', from the French ''L’Adventuriér'' by Emile Augier. In 1876 at the Lyceum Theatre, she played Annette in '' The Bells'' by Leopold David Lewis, adapted from the French, and Lady Frances Touchwood in ''

The Belle's Stratagem ''The Belle's Stratagem'' is a romantic comedy of manners, the most successful work of its playwright, Hannah Cowley. It received its premiere on 22 February 1780, filling the 2,000-seat Drury Lane theatre.Swale, Jessica. "The Belle of London: H ...

''.Converse Beach, Frederick and George Edwin Rines, ed
''The Americana: a universal reference library''
Vol. 3, Scientific American compiling department, 1912, accessed 29 July 2013 In June 1876 she appeared at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

as Maria in a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

performance of ''

School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'' held in behalf of her father. That same year at the

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772; the last was demolished in 1969, after a catastrophic fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was known as th ...

she was Lucy Ormond in ''Peril'' by

and Stephenson, an adaptation of Sardou's ''Nos intimes''. The following year Buckstone appeared as Minnie in '' Engaged'', a comedy by

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

at the Haymarket. On 6 January 1879, at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, Buckstone was married to Henry Edwards Smithes, the son of a wealthy London wine merchant. Her husband owned a large tract of cattle land near Victoria, Kansas, and for a time she joined him there, though eventually she returned to England after tiring of life on the prairie. In December 1882 Buckstone joined Genevieve Ward at the Olympic Theatre playing Alice in the Merivale and Grove drama, ''Forget-Me-Not'', and the following year she played Abigail Hill in ''The Queen’s Favorite'' by

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

, followed by Gladys Grant in ''Rachel'', Lucy Bertram in ''

Guy Mannering ''Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer'' is the second of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, ...

'' and Bertha de Mottrville in ''A Great Catch''. In 1884 Buckstone played Edith Marsland at the Prince Theatre in Charles Hawtrey's ''The Private Secretary'', and the following year, she was Blanche Denham in ''The Denhams'', adapted from ''The Crisis'' by

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet, novelist and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Ri ...

. In February 1891 at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

she was Gwendolen Pettigrew in the George William Godfrey comedy ''The Parvenu'', and that July at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

, she was Flora in ''Miss Decima'', by F. C. Burnand, from the French. Buckstone died in London on 17 March 1893 at the age of 35.''The New International Encyclopædia''
Volume 3, 1907, p. 610. Retrieved 29 July 2013

Notes

References

External links

Photo of BuckstoneAnother photo of Buckstone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckstone, Lucy Isabella 1857 births 1893 deaths 19th-century English actresses English stage actresses Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham People from Lewisham