Helena Cécile Ernstone, ''(née'' Hélène Cecilia Schott; circa 1841

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

– 2 July 1933 Ferndown, Dorset, England) was an English actress who appeared in London theatres from 1867 to 1881.

Biography

Family

She was the fourth daughter of Adam Joseph Schott (1794–1864), the youngest of five children of Bernhard Schott, the founder of German music publisher B. Schott's Söhne. After establishing several international branches for the firm, Adam left to pursue a musical career, performing in New York during 1830/1. He then became bandmaster of the 79th Regiment, serving in Quebec and Toronto, before a period with the 79th in Britain and then Gibraltar. He left the 79th there to become bandmaster of Grenadier Guards 1844–1856. Adam died in India (Kirkee, 1864), as bandmaster of Royal Artillery there. Helen's eldest sister, Rosa Schott ''(née'' Rosa Antoinette Schott; born Toronto 1834), was on the London stage, at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket for much of 1854–6. She performed there with actor Robert Edwin Villiers (1830–1904), whom she married in 1856. Villiers then began a long spell in music hall, as a manager/licensee and then owner/developer. Amongst his halls were the Margate Assembly Rooms, the Canterbury Music Hall (see below), the South London and the Pavilion (still standing at Piccadilly Circus). Rosa died in Torquay 1918. She and Villiers were estranged from around 1871 and it appears that a relationship between Villiers and Ernstone may have been a factor. Helen's younger sister, Angie Schott ''(née'' Angelika Francesca Schott; born London circa 1846), was also an actress, active in the US in the 1870s. Sometime in the 1870s or 1880s, Angie married Henry S. Truax (died 1917 in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

, New York, with no known living relatives). What became of Angie is unknown.

Career

Ernstone began her professional career in provincial theatres, playing the role of Geraldine in Buckstone's ''The Green Bushes'' at The

Canterbury Music Hall The Canterbury Music Hall was established in 1852 by Charles Morton on the site of a former skittle alley adjacent to the Canterbury Tavern at 143 Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth. It was one of the first purpose-built music halls in London, a ...

, Lambeth in 1867. She made her London debut in 1868 at Covent Garden as Katherine in '' Katherine and Petruchio''. In 1869, she played in Charles Smith Cheltnam's (1823–1912) ''Edendale'' at the opening of the Charing Cross Theatre. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote: "Among the novices are Miss Ernstone, from

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, a young lady of prepossessing appearance, who plays Ada Vandaleur... with much force". For the next ten years she appeared on the West End stage in juvenile leads. At the Olympic Theatre later in 1869, she was Martha in ''Little Em'ly'' by Andrew Halliday, based on Dickens's ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

''. The following year she moved to the Globe Theatre in ''Philomel'', part of a double-bill with '' The Ticket-of-Leave Man'', and in the same year, she appeared in ''Man o' Airlie'' with Hermann Vezin. Also in 1870, she created the part of Katie Maguire in ''Inisfallen'' by Edmund Falconer at the Lyceum Theatre, London and played Lizzie Hexham in another adaptation of a Dickens novel, ''

Our Mutual Friend ''Our Mutual Friend'', published in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by English author Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. ...

'', at the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...

. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' wrote of this production, "Her acting... is poetical in the highest sense.... If we mistake not, Miss Ernstone will occupy a distinguished position on the stage." In 1873 at Astley's Theatre, Ernstone played the title role in ''The Fair Rosamond'' by William Mower Akhurst (1822–1878). That year, at the Olympic, she played Grace Roseberry in

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...

's ''The New Magdalen'', followed the next year by Henriette in ''The Two Orphans'' by

John Oxenford John Oxenford (12 August 1812 – 21 February 1877) was an English dramatist, critic and translator. Life Oxenford was born in Camberwell, London, his father a prosperous merchant. While he was privately educated, it is reported that he was mos ...

, with Henry Neville and the young Rutland Barrington. In 1875 she created the role of Ruth Leigh in ''The Detective'' at the Mirror Theatre (formerly the Holborn). ''

'' thought the play too long and called for drastic cuts, but added, "Miss Ernstone plays the devoted Ruth in so earnest a spirit that we cannot express without regret our fears that the part will be terribly reduced when the abbreviations of the piece are effected." In 1878 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 ...

, she played Olivia in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' and returned to the Olympic in a revival of ''The Two Orphans''. The following year, she appeared at the Olympic as Marguerite Duval in a melodrama called ''Mother''''

'', 2 June 1879 p. 8 and at the Standard Theatre as Margaret Wentworth in ''Henry Dunbar''.

References

General references
Angie Schott at Rootsweb
Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernstone, Helen 1840s births 1933 deaths 19th-century English actresses English stage actresses People from Ferndown