Mabel Lucy Hackney (1872 – 29 May 1914) was a British actress and the wife of the dramatist and actor Laurence Irving and daughter-in-law of the actor

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

in whose company she acted before she joined that of her husband. She died along with her husband in the ''Empress of Ireland'' disaster in 1914.Logan Marshall
''The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland''
Berkley Publishing Group (2014), Google Books.

Early career

She was born in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1872, the daughter of William Hackney (1842–1891) and Susan Lucy (''née'' Penrose; 1848–after 1914). Hackney began her acting career as the understudy to

Evelyn Millard Evelyn Mary Millard (18 September 1869 – 9 March 1941) was an English William Shakespeare, Shakespearean actress, actor-manager and "stage beauty" of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries perhaps best known for creating the role o ...

at the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

. Here she played Lady Clarice Raindean in ''The Masqueraders'' opposite George Alexander (1894); Amelia, Countess of Rassendyll in ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in o ...

'' (1896); and Blanche Oriel in Pinero's '' The Princess and the Butterfly'' (1897). She was Ottoline Mallinson in ''Lord and Lady Algy'' (1898) and Nelly Mostyn in ''Constancy'' at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

(1898).

The Lyceum and marriage

Joining the Company of

at the Lyceum Theatre in London she appeared in ''

The Lyons Mail ''The Lyons Mail'' is a 1931 British historical mystery adventure film directed by Arthur Maude and starring John Martin Harvey, Norah Baring, and Ben Webster. It was based on the 1877 play '' The Lyons Mail'' by Charles Reade which in turn was ...

''; was Virgilia in ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

'' (1901); Nora Brewster in

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's ''A Story of Waterloo'' (1901); Annette in '' The Bells'' (1901); and Nerissa in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' (1901). In the company, she met her future husband, Laurence Irving. She was in Irving's The London Lyceum Company during its 1901–02 tour of North America, among other roles playing Sarah Oldfield in the curtain-raiser ''Nance Oldfield'' opposite

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 toured ...

on a bill which featured Irving as Mathias in '' The Bells''. The Company also performed ''

'' during the tour. She played Pia dei Tolomei opposite

in the title role in ''Dante'' at the

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

(1903). Hackney married Laurence Irving in 1903. Their children were Laurence Irving Brodribb (1903–1988) and Dorothy Elizabeth Irving Brodribb (1906–2003). Laurence Irving and Mabel Hackney

She was Lucy Sacheverell in a tour of her husband's play ''Richard Lovelace'' (1903) in a cast that included Irving and

Gerald Lawrence Gerald Leslie Lawrence (23 March 1873 – 9 May 1957) was a British actor and Actor-manager, manager. Lawrence was born in London in 1873, the son of Emily Mills ''née'' Asher (1832-1912) and John Moss Lawrence (1827-1888), an investor. Lawre ...

. She was Alice Maitland opposite

Harley Granville Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directing a ...

in ''

The Voysey Inheritance ''The Voysey Inheritance'' is a play in five acts by the English dramatist Harley Granville-Barker. Written in 1903–1905, it was originally staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 1905 featuring Mabel Hackney, and revived at the same venue in 1965 ...

'' (1905) and in ''Pan and the Young Shepherd'' (1906), both at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

. She created the role of Phyllis in Pinero's ''The Thunderbolt'' at the

(1908) and in the same year toured with her husband in ''Peg Woffington''. During 1909–10, the couple were in New York appearing in ''The Incubus'' and ''The Three Daughters of M. Dupont''.

Stage career

In 1910 she appeared as Young Lady opposite her husband in his play ''The Dog Between'' at His Majesty's Theatre and as Sonia Martinova opposite him in his play ''The Unwritten Law'' which originally played at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

before transferring to the Kingsway Theatre in 1911. She appeared as one of the Twelve Hours in a star-studded and all-female production of

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's ''

The Vision of Delight ''The Vision of Delight'' was a Jacobean era masque written by Ben Jonson. It was most likely performed on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1617 in the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace, and repeated on 19 January that year. ''The Vision of Deligh ...

'' at His Majesty's Theatre (1911) that included Mrs. Patrick Campbell,

Lily Brayton Elizabeth "Lily" Brayton (23 June 1876 – 30 April 1953) was an English actress and singer, known for her performances in Shakespeare plays and for her nearly 2,000 performances in the First World War hit musical ''Chu Chin Chow''. Early life ...

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

Lena Ashwell Lena Margaret Ashwell, Lady Simson ( Pocock; 28 September 1872 – 13 March 1957) was a British actress and theatre manager and producer, known as the first to organise large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during Wo ...

and

Lilian Braithwaite Dame Florence Lilian Braithwaite (9 March 1873 – 17 September 1948) was an English actress, primarily of the stage, although she appeared in both silent and talkie films. Early life She was born in Ramsgate, Kent, the daughter of the Revd Joh ...

. In the same year, she played the title role opposite her husband in ''Margaret Catchpole'' at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

while later in 1911 the Irvings took ''The Unwritten Law'' on tour together with ''The Lily'' in which Hackney was Christiane. In 1912, she played Gringoire in her husband's adaptation ''The King and the Vagabond'' at the Kingsway Theatre. The couple were on a tour of first Australia and then North America from 1912 to 1914. Their biggest success on the tour was Laurence Irving's own play ''The Typhoon'' which was a topical play set in the time of the Russo-Japanese War, in which he played a Japanese officer.

Death

At the end of the tour they were returning home when Laurence and Mabel Irving drowned in the RMS ''Empress of Ireland'' disaster. In the early hours of the morning on 29 May 1914, near the mouth of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, the ''Empress of Ireland'' was rammed by the , a Norwegian collier, on her starboard bow. ''Storstad'' remained afloat, but ''Empress of Ireland'' was severely damaged. A gaping hole in her side caused the lower decks to flood at a rate alarming to the crew. ''Empress of Ireland'' lurched heavily to starboard. Most of the passengers and crew located in the lower decks drowned quickly and water entered through open portholes, some only a few feet above the water line, and inundated passageways and cabins. Those berthed in the upper decks were awakened by the collision, and immediately boarded lifeboats on the boat deck. Within a few minutes of the collision, the list was so severe that the port lifeboats could not be launched. Some passengers attempted to do so but the lifeboats just crashed into the side of the ship, spilling their occupants into the frigid water. Five starboard lifeboats were launched successfully, while a sixth capsized during lowering. Ten or eleven minutes after the collision, ''Empress of Ireland'' lurched violently onto her starboard side, allowing as many as 700 passengers and crew to crawl out of the portholes and decks onto her port side. The ship lay on her side for a minute or two, having seemingly run aground. A few minutes later at 02:10, about 14 minutes after the collision, the bow rose briefly out of the water and the ship finally sank. Hundreds of people were thrown into the near-freezing water. The disaster resulted in the deaths of 1,012 people. Reports in the news accounts of the tragedy say that Laurence Irving and Mabel Hackney got separated and Irving was in a position of temporary safety, but he knew Mabel could not swim and he jumped back into the water to rescue her. Their bodies were never found. In her will, Mabel Irving left £5,761 3s 11d to her widowed mother, Susan, who presumably was raising her orphaned children. An eye-witness named Burt reported that Irving obtained two lifebelts, one of which he put on his wife. However, she "cried bitterly, and fainted in her husband's arms" despite him imploring her to "keep cool". Then, Burt reported, "they climbed up the sloping deck to the water’s edge. I saw them clasped in one another’s arms. They would not jump, but stood in a fervent embrace. They showered kisses on each other, and they must have died in each other’s arms."''Beverley and East Riding Recorder'', Saturday, 6 June 1914, pg. 8

References

External links

Portraits of Mabel Lucy Hackney
–

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...