page_title: Mary Frances Scott-Siddons
hierarchical_section_title: Mary Frances Scott-Siddons
caption_attribution_description: English: Mary Frances Scott-Siddons
context_page_description: Mary Frances Scott-Siddons was a British actor and dramatic reader. Her paternal great-grandmother was Sarah Siddons.
  After a struggle, Scott-Siddons secured an engagement and made her professional debut at Nottingham, in 1866. as Portia in The Merchant of Venice. She was well received there and in Edinburgh, and in the following year, attained a great success as a Shakespearean reader in London, where in 1868 she played the part of Rosalind in As You Like It at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and afterward appeared as Juliet, drawing immense audiences. Her beauty and grace of person contributed more to her success than her histrionic talent, and though a spirited and thoroughly natural actress, she lacked the technical training and necessary vigor. In her readings she was more successful. She played in New York City in 1868, and was not well received, nor were her subsequent appearances in London successful. In 1872, she starred in the United States and Australia with mediocre success.
  It was as a dramatic reader that Scott-Siddons achieved her greatest fame. Her work was characterized by vast intelligence and clearness of interpretation.
context_section_description: Mary Frances Scott-Siddons (1844 – 8 November 1896) was a British actor and dramatic reader. Her paternal great-grandmother was Sarah Siddons.
  After a struggle, Scott-Siddons secured an engagement and made her professional debut at Nottingham, in 1866. as Portia in The Merchant of Venice. She was well received there and in Edinburgh, and in the following year, attained a great success as a Shakespearean reader in London, where in 1868 she played the part of Rosalind in As You Like It at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and afterward appeared as Juliet, drawing immense audiences. Her beauty and grace of person contributed more to her success than her histrionic talent, and though a spirited and thoroughly natural actress, she lacked the technical training and necessary vigor. In her readings she was more successful. She played in New York City in 1868, and was not well received, nor were her subsequent appearances in London successful. In 1872, she starred in the United States and Australia with mediocre success.
  It was as a dramatic reader that Scott-Siddons achieved her greatest fame. Her work was characterized by vast intelligence and clearness of interpretation. Her utterance was rapid, and in a clear, musical voice of great flexibility of expression. In scenes, she made little attempt to differentiate characters by vocal changes; she gestured little.
caption: Mary Frances Scott-Siddons
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