Rose Leclercq (2 February 1843 – 2 April 1899) was an English actress, possibly best known for creating the role of Lady Bracknell in

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' in 1895.

Life and career

Leclercq was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, as Rose Clark, one of the four daughters of Charles Clark (1797–1861) and his wife, Margaret, ''née'' Burnet. Clark, a pantomimist and ballet master, performed under the stage name of Charles Leclercq. His two daughters who followed him into the theatrical profession, Rose, and her elder sister Carlotta, both adopted his stage surname.Knight, Joseph
"Leclercq, Carlotta (1838–1893)"
rev. J Gilliland, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008 accessed 12 March 2013 . On her sixth birthday Leclercq played Ceres in the masque scene of ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. In October 1860 she appeared in London in

Dion Boucicault Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault (né Boursiquot; 26 December 1820 – 18 September 1890) was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the ...

's ''The Corsican Brothers''. A year later she played Desdemona to Charles Albert Fechter's

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

. In 1863 she was the original Mary Vance in F. C. Burnand's ''The Deal Boatman'' and Astarte in

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

's ''

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction. Byr ...

''.

The Importance of Being Earnest 1895 George Alexander and Rose Leclercq 1895

In April 1864 Leclercq married Charles Perry Fuller, a horse dealer, with whom she had a son, the actor Fuller Mellish. Fuller and Leclercq divorced in 1871. In 1868 Leclercq played Eliza in Boucicault's ''After Dark'' and Kate Jessop in his ''Lost at Sea''; in 1875 she was the first Clara Ffolliott in ''The Shaughraun''. Over the next twenty years she appeared in new and classic roles, the latter including 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 ...

'' with

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 ( ...

and

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 ...

. Her roles in new plays included Marie Leczinska in W. G. Wills's ''The Pompadour'' (1888), and Lady Wargrave in

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

's ''The New Woman'' towards the end of 1894. In 1895 Leclercq originated the role of Lady Bracknell in ''

''. The critics of ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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'' ...

'' remarked on how she brought out the cynicism of the character."St James's Theatre", ''The Times'', 15 February 1895, p. 5; and "At the play", ''The Observer'', 17 February 1895, p. 6 Her last role was with Cyril Maude and Winifred Emery at the Haymarket; she played Mrs Beechinor in H A Jones's ''The Manoeuvres of Jane''. She played this part from October 1898 to March the following year, when she was taken ill. Leclercq died from influenza and bronchial pneumonia at her home in Chelsea, at the age of 56. In a biographical article written two years after her death the critic Joseph Knight wrote, "Rose Leclercq in her later days had a matchless delivery, and was the best, and almost the only, representative of the grand style in comedy."

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leclercq, Rose 1843 births 1899 deaths Actresses from Liverpool English stage actresses Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery 19th-century English actresses