Maria Honner (1812–1870), was an Irish actress.

Biography and career

Honner, born at

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 ...

, Ireland, 21 Dec. 1812, was a daughter of Eugene Macarthy, actor and manager, who died in the Dramatic College at Maybury, Surrey, 14 May 1866, aged 78. Educated at Cork, she lost her mother at an early age, and being thrown on her own resources, with a younger brother to support, made a first appearance on the stage at a theatre in the south of Ireland. She afterwards played in Dublin, and as the hero of juvenile tragedy attracted the notice of

Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...

and

William Charles Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the ...

. Her first important character was Rosalie Somers in Thomas Morton's '' Town and Country'', which she played to Edmund Kean. An engagement in Scotland followed, and she became a popular favourite. In 1831 she was engaged by John Farrell for the Pavilion Theatre, London, where for two seasons she was the leading attraction. In 1833 she transferred her services to the Coburg Theatre, and, on the retirement of G. B. Davidge the lessee, removed to

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-se ...

, where

Robert William Honner Robert William Honner (18 January 1809 – 31 December 1852) was an English actor and theatre manager. Early and personal life Honner was the youngest son of John Honner, solicitor, of the firm of Fletcher & Honner, of the parish of St. An ...

was the manager. After the successful termination of two seasons she went to the

Surrey Theatre The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama ( hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the ju ...

. In June 1835 she played with exceptional success Julia in the ‘Hunchback’ at Drury Lane for the benefit of ‘Jerry-Sneak Russell.’ On 21 May 1836 she married Honner. She continued acting with her husband at the Surrey until Whitsuntide 1838, when he became lessee of Sadler's Wells, where they played together for about five years with much success. At the request of Davidge she returned to the Surrey, where she remained until 17 Sept. 1845, and then went to the

City of London Theatre Norton Folgate was a liberty in Middlesex, England; adjacent to the City of London in what would become the East End of London. It was located between the Bishopsgate ward of the City of London to the south, the parish of St Leonard, Shoreditc ...

. She was a good actress in pathetic roles, and after the retirement of Elizabeth Yates was for a time without a rival. She was excellent in many Shakespearean parts, as well as in Mary in 'Paul the Pilot,' Susan in 'Kohal Cave,' Felix in the 'French Revolution,' Blanche in '

Blanche Heriot Blanche Heriot was a legendary heroine from Chertsey, Surrey, whose story was brought to a wider public in two works by the Chertsey-born early Victorian writer Albert Smith. Background In 1842 Smith's first play, ''Blanche Heriot, or The Cherts ...

,' and Clemency in

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 '

The Battle of Life ''The Battle of Life: A Love Story'' is an 1846 novel by Charles Dickens. It is the fourth of his five "Christmas Books", coming after '' The Cricket on the Hearth'' and followed by '' The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain''. The setting is ...

.' She died of paralysis at the residence of her second husband, Frederick Morton, stage-manager of

Charing Cross Theatre The Charing Cross Theatre is a theatre under The Arches off Villiers Street below Charing Cross station. Founded in 1936, the venue occupied several premises in the West End of London before locating to its present site. The current site was o ...

, on 4 Jan. 1870.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Honner, Maria 1812 births 1870 deaths People from Enniskillen Irish stage actresses 19th-century Irish actresses Actors from County Fermanagh