Gertrude Constance Cockburn Benson ( Samwell; 26 February 1864 – 19 January 1946) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. Before her marriage to Frank Benson, she was known by the stage name Constance Featherstonhaugh, pronounced "Fanshaw" (). Born in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

into a military family, and christened Gertrude Constance Cockburn Samwell, she took to the stage under the name of Featherstonhaugh, which was the middle name of her father, Morshead Featherstonhaugh Samwell.

Arthur Machen Arthur Machen (; 3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. H ...

Montgomery Evans Montgomery refers to: People For people with the name Montgomery, see Montgomery (name) Places Belgium * Montgomery Square, Brussels * Montgomery metro station, Brussels Pakistan * Montgomery (town), British India, former name of Sahiwal, Punj ...

, ''Arthur Machen & Montgomery Evans: Letters of a Literary Friendship, 1923–1947'' (Kent State University Press, 1994)
p. 170
/ref> She married the actor Frank Benson in 1886, and they had two children, Eric William (1887–1916), killed at the

battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, and Brynhild Lucy (1888–1974). When Benson played Cleopatra in 1898, reviewers were astonished by her "terrible rage", one commenting that she treated a struck-down messenger so violently that only the intervention of Charmian had saved his life. One critic later claimed that "Benson and his companies never shook off the aura of amateurism", and that some of the parts Constance Benson had played "owed more to her husband's loyalty than to her talent".Mark Thornton Burnett, ''Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts'' 2011, p. 305 As an actress, Constance Benson worked in the theatre, but in 1911 she also appeared in leading roles in four

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s, all adaptations of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

: ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'', '' Julius Caesar'', ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', and ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

''. In 1916 Constance became Lady Benson. After F. R. Benson's love affair with the young actress

Genevieve Townsend Genevieve Townsend (December 4, 1897 – May 1, 1927) was an American stage and film actress. She was born in the United States, but later moved to Britain. In the mid-1920s she had several lead roles in British silent films. She died in Switzerla ...

(d. 1927), the couple separated but did not divorce, and in 1940 Benson attended her husband's funeral as his widow. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, in which her son Eric was killed, Benson worked in a canteen for soldiers in France. In 1917 her daughter Brynhild married firstly Charles Chalmers, in 1931 secondly Harold G. Janion, and in 1951 thirdly Richard C. Kelly. In the 1920s, Benson became a writer, and her published books are her autobiography ''Mainly Players'' (1926); two novels, ''The Chimera'' (1928), about "an ice-cold, egotistical, twenty-eight-year-old artist", with a frustrated wife, and ''Cuckoo Oats'' (1929). She also wrote an acting manualJohn Courtenay Trewin, ''Benson and the Bensonians'' (1960), p. 281 and in the 1920s began a drama school, at which one of her students was Elvira Mullens, later

Elvira Barney Elvira Enid Barney (née Mullens; ) was an English socialite and actress known professionally as Dolores Ashley. She was tried for the murder of her lover, Michael Scott Stephen, in 1932. The trial was widely reported by the British press. She wa ...

. Benson's autobiography ''Mainly Players'' has an introduction by

, who had been a member of the Benson company from 1901 to 1909.

Publications

*Lady Benson, ''Mainly Players: Bensonian Memories'' (London: Butterworth, 1926), with Introduction by

*''The Chimera'' (London: Butterworth, 1928) *''Cuckoo Oats'' (London: Butterworth, 1929) *Lady Benson, ''One Hundred Practical Hints for the Amateur'' (London: Samuel French, 1930)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Constance 1864 births 1946 deaths English silent film actresses British people in colonial India 19th-century British actresses British stage actresses 20th-century English actresses 19th-century English women 19th-century English people