Aet. 45, to an actress. Forbes-Robertson’s Hamlet opened at the Lyceum on 11 September 1897 to rave reviews, but Campbell’s performance of Ophelia received little praise in the press. George Bernard Shaw’s sensitive critique in the Saturday Review (2 October 1897) somewhat echos George Moore’s in this letter.
The “Fortinbras ending” (i.e. cutting the arrival of Fortinbras at the end of Hamlet) was a common manager’s choice. Many 19th-century productions did it to shorten the length of performance.
Help with my transcription of this letter was generously given by Elspeth Healey, Special Collections Curator, Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas.
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