- Born:
- June 19, 1856, New York, N.Y., U.S.
- Died:
- Jan. 22, 1933, New York City (aged 76)
Elisabeth Marbury
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Who was Elisabeth Marbury?
Elisabeth Marbury (1856–1933) was a prominent American theatrical and literary agent who represented many performers and writers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Marbury began her career in theatre management after organizing a successful benefit performance in 1885. In 1888, she became the business manager and agent for Frances Hodgson Burnett.
In 1891, she became the English-speaking market representative for playwright Victorien Sardou and other members of the Société des Gens de Lettres for 15 years. Her clients included George Bernard Shaw, James M. Barrie, and Americans Rachel Crothers and Clyde Fitch. Marbury also helped Vernon and Irene Castle launch their dance school and assisted Elsie de Wolfe in her interior design career. During World War I, she was devoted to relief work for French and American soldiers.
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What is a theatrical and literary agent?
A theatrical and literary agent represents writers and performers, helping them find work and handling negotiations with publishers or producers. Elisabeth Marbury was a prominent American theatrical and literary agent who represented many stars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1888, she became Frances Hodgson Burnett's business manager and agent. For 15 years, beginning in 1891, Marbury represented playwright Victorien Sardou and other members of the Société des Gens de Lettres in the English-speaking market.
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How did Elisabeth Marbury become involved in theater?
Elisabeth Marbury's entry into theater management was sparked in 1885 by a successful benefit performance she organized. In 1888, she convinced Frances Hodgson Burnett to hire her as a business manager and agent after Burnett wrote a dramatic version of her novel Little Lord Fauntleroy. This proved profitable for both of them.
In 1891, Marbury expanded her business to France, representing playwright Victorien Sardou and other members of the Société des Gens de Lettres for 15 years. Her work involved securing translations and productions, and ensuring royalties. She also represented British and American authors and worked with Charles Frohman and the Theatrical Syndicate.
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What impact did she have on American theater and literature?
Elisabeth Marbury significantly impacted American theater and literature by representing prominent theatrical performers and writers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a theatrical and literary agent, she represented many writers in the English-speaking market, secured suitable translations, ensured sound productions with leading actors, and obtained full royalties.
Marbury's work contributed to developing American musical comedy through productions like Nobody Home (1915), Very Good, Eddie (1915), and Love o’ Mike (1916), all with music by Jerome Kern, and See America First (1916) with music by Cole Porter.
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Who were some of the famous writers and playwrights she represented?
Elisabeth Marbury was a theatrical and literary agent who represented many famous writers and performers. After successfully managing a benefit theatrical performance in 1885, she became a business manager and agent for Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1888.
During her career, Marbury represented a stellar array of theatrical performers and writers, including George Bernard Shaw, James M. Barrie, Hall Caine, and Jerome K. Jerome among British authors, and Rachel Crothers and Clyde Fitch among Americans. For 15 years, beginning in 1891, she represented playwright Victorien Sardou and other members of the Société des Gens de Lettres, including Georges Feydeau, Edmond Rostand, Ludovic Halévy, and Jean Richepin.
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How did Elisabeth Marbury help change opportunities for women in theater and publishing?
Elisabeth Marbury significantly impacted opportunities for women in theater and publishing by creating new roles and structures within these industries.
Marbury's career took off when she became Frances Hodgson Burnett's business manager and agent in 1888; this partnership proved highly beneficial for both women. In 1903, she helped organize the Colony Club, New York's first women’s social club. Her success as a theatrical and literary agent in a male-dominated industry paved the way for other women to pursue similar careers. She also assisted her close friend Elsie de Wolfe in creating a career in interior decoration.
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Elisabeth Marbury (born June 19, 1856, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Jan. 22, 1933, New York City) was an American theatrical and literary agent who represented a stellar array of theatrical performers and writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Marbury grew up in an affluent and cultured home and was privately educated, to a large extent by her father. In 1885 a successful benefit theatrical performance that she had organized prompted Marbury to try her hand at theatre management. In 1888 she persuaded Frances Hodgson Burnett, who had written a dramatic version of her best-selling Little Lord Fauntleroy, to hire her as business manager and agent. The association quickly proved highly profitable to both women.
In 1891 Marbury traveled to France, and for 15 years she was the representative in the English-speaking market for playwright Victorien Sardou and the other members of the Société des Gens de Lettres, including Georges Feydeau, Edmond Rostand, Ludovic Halévy, and Jean Richepin. Her work on their behalf included securing suitable translations, sound productions with leading actors, and full royalties. She also represented George Bernard Shaw, James M. Barrie (whom she prevailed upon to rewrite The Little Minister for Maude Adams), Hall Caine, and Jerome K. Jerome, among British authors, and Rachel Crothers and Clyde Fitch among Americans. Her office thus became a centre of the New York theatrical business, and for many years Marbury worked closely with Charles Frohman and his Theatrical Syndicate in bringing order to a rapidly expanding field of enterprise. She later worked with the rival Shubert brothers’ organization. In 1914 Marbury joined several other agents in forming the American Play Company, and she then turned to producing and helped stage Nobody Home (1915), Very Good, Eddie (1915), and Love o’ Mike (1916), all with music by Jerome Kern, and See America First (1916) with music by Cole Porter. These works contributed significantly to the development of the characteristically American form of musical comedy.
Marbury’s other successes include bringing Vernon and Irene Castle, whom she had seen on one of her innumerable trips to Paris, to New York in 1913 and setting them up in a fashionable dancing school that was the springboard for their brief but spectacularly popular career; assisting her close friend and companion Elsie de Wolfe in creating a career in interior decoration; and in 1903 restoring the Villa Trianon near Versailles, France, where she and de Wolfe became noted hostesses. Also in 1903 she helped organize the Colony Club, the first women’s social club in New York.
During World War I Marbury devoted much time to relief work for French and later American soldiers and spent several months in France working in military hospitals and giving talks to the troops. She translated Maurice Barrès’s The Faith of France (1918) and was decorated by the French and Belgian governments. In 1918 she became active in the Democratic Party. In 1923 she published an autobiography, My Crystal Ball. She had earlier published Manners: A Handbook of Social Customs in 1888.