Mrs Frances Abington: An Eighteenth-Century Actress and Her Use of Imagery for Self-Promotion

Abstract

The eighteenth-century actress Mrs Frances Abington left a legacy of images of herself, both as a woman of fashion and as a popular comedienne. At the height of her career in the mid-century, English society was experiencing accelerating changes in communication, both through printed media and imagery. Abington made full use of the popularity of the new public exhibitions and the growing market for printed images to actively promote herself to her supporters. This article places her in the context of mid-eighteenth-century London theatre and examines how she used imagery in the creation of a public persona.