Hilda Trevelyan (4 February 1877 – 10 November 1959) was an English actress. Early in her career she became known for her performance in plays by J. M. Barrie, and is probably best remembered for creating the role of Wendy in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. Another early success was as Oliver Twist in a dramatisation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's novel staged by

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progr ...

. Later in her career she performed in plays by

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

Ian Hay Major General John Hay Beith, CBE MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who wrote under the pen name Ian Hay. After rea ...

and others, in London and on tour. She retired after her last London play in 1939.

Life and career

Early years

Trevelyan was born Hilda Marie Antoinette Anna Tucker, in Hackney, London,"Hilda Trevelyan"
National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 23 February 2013 daughter of John Joseph Tucker, a farmer, and his French wife, Helene Adolphine Marie Foulon. She was educated at the Ursuline convent in Upton.Trewin, J C
"Trevelyan, Hilda (1877–1959)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 23 February 2013 She first appeared on stage at the age of twelve in a production of '' The Silver King'', a melodrama by

Henry Arthur Jones Henry Arthur Jones (20 September 1851 – 7 January 1929) was an English dramatist, who was first noted for his melodrama '' The Silver King'' (1882), and went on to write prolifically, often appearing to mirror Ibsen from the opposite (conserv ...

and

Henry Herman Henry Herman (real name Henry Heydrac D'Arco, 1832–1894) was an English dramatist and novelist. Biography He was born in Alsace, and educated at a military college. He emigrated to the United States, and served in the Confederate Army during ...

."Hilda Trevelyan – link with Barrie", ''The Times'', 11 November 1959. p .5 By the age of sixteen she was touring in the

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

A Gaiety Girl ''A Gaiety Girl'' is an English musical comedy in two acts by a team of musical comedy neophytes: Owen Hall (book, on an outline by James T. Tanner), Harry Greenbank (lyrics) and Sidney Jones (music). It opened at Prince of Wales Theatre in ...

''. Her first important London engagement was at the Court Theatre in 1898, understudying Pattie Browne in the role of Avonia Bunn in ''

Trelawny of the 'Wells' ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society. Synopsis ''Trelawny of the "Wells"'' t ...

'', a part that she later played many times in her own right."Hilda Trevelyan: The first 'Wendy'". ''The Guardian'', 12 November 1959, p. 6 Early in her career she attracted the attention of

James Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

. She toured as Lady Babbie in his romance '' The Little Minister'', playing the part more than 700 times. She returned to London and appeared in two conspicuous successes, '' A Chinese Honeymoon'' (taking over from Louie Freear as Fi Fi) and '' 'Op o' Me Thumb'', as Amanda. In 1904 she resumed her association with Barrie, touring in his ''Little Mary''. He was working on the stage version of ''

'' at the time, and he cast her as Wendy to the Peter of

Nina Boucicault Nina Boucicault (27 February 1867 – 2 August 1950) was an English actress born to playwright Dion Boucicault and his wife, actress Agnes Kelly Robertson. She had three brothers, Dion William (1855–1876), Dion Boucicault Jr. and Aubrey Bouc ...

. Over the years she played the part nearly a thousand times. In Barrie's ''Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire'' (1905) she had a supporting role in the London cast, in which the main female roles were taken by

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

and

Irene Vanbrugh Dame Irene Vanbrugh DBE ( Barnes; 2 December 1872 – 30 November 1949) was an English actress. The daughter of a clergyman, Vanbrugh followed her elder sister Violet into the theatrical profession and sustained a career for more than 50 year ...

as mother and daughter. When the piece toured, Terry remained and Trevelyan succeeded to Vanbrugh's part. She followed this comic role with "an exquisite performance as the hapless, terror-stricken orphan" in

's production of '' Oliver Twist''.

West End success

After playing Tweeny in a revival of Barrie's ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving Ernest is p ...

'' in 1908, Trevelyan was given her biggest chance so far, as Maggie in '' What Every Woman Knows'', a part Barrie wrote with her in mind. She made a great success in the role; ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' wrote of her "quite triumphant attainment of the art which art conceals … the audience received this quaintest of comedies with rapturous relish throughout." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' said that Trevelyan was "the darling, the acclaimed idol of a house excited to the highest pitch of enthusiasm." A silent film of the piece was later made, with Trevelyan the only member of the original cast. In 1910 Trevelyan married a fellow-actor, and writer, Sydney Blow (1878–1961). After the success of '' What Every Woman Knows'', she went into management for a time, in partnership with

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...

. In 1916 she had another Barrie hit with ''A Kiss for Cinderella''.

Post-war and later years

In 1924 Trevelyan appeared in a new production of

's '' The Great Adventure''. ''The Observers critic wrote, "When I say that Miss Hilda Trevelyan's Janet Cannot seemed to me quite perfect there will doubtless be people to tell me that the part has been done better. But I don't think I shall believe them." In 1926 she took over from

Mary Jerrold Mary Jerrold (4 December 1877 – 3 March 1955) was an English actress. She was married to actor Hubert Harben, and mother of actress Joan Harben and celebrity chef Philip Harben. She made her London stage debut as Prudence Dering in ''Mary Pe ...

in a revival of Barrie's ''

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her ...

''. One of the most notable of Trevelyan's performances in the 1930s was with Nina Boucicault in a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Life and career

Early years

West End success

Post-war and later years

Notes

References