Diverse essays on the life and career of one of the greatest tragic actors of the nineteenth century.Ira Aldridge -- a black New Yorker -- was one of nineteenth-century Europe's greatest actors. He performed abroad for forty-three years, winning more awards, honors, and official decorations than any of his professional peers. Billed as the "African Roscius," Aldridge developed a repertoire initially consisting of Shakespeare's Othello, melodramas about slavery, and farces that drew on his ability to sing and dance. By the time he began touring in Europe he was principally a Shakespearean actor, playing such classic characters as Shylock, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. Although his frequent public appearances made him the most visible black man in the world by mid-nineteenth century, today Aldridge tends to be a forgotten figure, seldom mentioned in histories of British and European theater. This collection restores the luster to Aldridge's reputation by examining his extraordinary achievements against all odds. The early essays offer biographical information, while later essays examine his critical and popular reception throughout the world. Taken together, these diverse approaches to Aldridge offer a fuller understanding and heightened appreciation of a remarkable man who had an exceptionally interesting life and a spectacular career. Contributors: Cyril Bruyn Andrews, Nikola Batusic, Philip A. Bell, Keith Byerman, Ruth M. Cowhig,Nicholas M. Evans, Joost Groeneboer, Ann Marie Koller, Joyce Green MacDonald, Herbert Marshall, James J. Napier, Krzysztof Sawala, Gunner Sjögren, James McCune Smith, Hazel Waters, and Stanley B. Winters. Bernth Lindfors is Professor Emeritus of English and African literatures at The University of Texas at Austin.

Memoir and the Theatrical Career of Ira Aldridge, the African Roscius - London: OnwhynIra Aldridge (1860) - James McCune SmithMen We Have Known: Ira Aldridge (1867) - Philip A. Bell"Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice": New Biographical Information on Ira Aldridge - Bernth LindforsIra Aldridge's Swedish Wife - Gunner Sjögren"African Tragedian" in a Golden Prague: Some Unpublished Correspondence - James J Napier and Stanley B WintersA Garland of Love Letters - Cyril Bruyn AndrewsIra Aldridge's Fight for Equality - Hazel WatersIra Aldridge in Manchester - Ruth M. CowhigActing Black: Othello, Othello Burlesques, and the Performance of Blackness - Joyce Green MacDonaldIra Aldridge: Shakespeare and Minstrelsy - Nicholas M. Evans"Mislike me not for my complexion...": Ira Aldridge in Whiteface - Bernth LindforsIra Aldridge as Macbeth and King Lear - Herbert MarshallCreating the Black Hero: Ira Aldridge's The Black Doctor - Keith ByermanThe First American on the Zagreb Stage - Nikola BatusicA Heartwarming, Radiant Othello in the Netherlands, 1855 - Joost GroeneboerIra Aldridge's Performances in Meiningen - Ann Marie Koller"Othello's Occupation's Gone!" The African Roscius in Poland, 1853-67 - Krzysztof Sawala