HEROINES By ANNA JAMESON WITH TWENTY-SIX PORTRAITS OF LONDON GEORGE BELL & SONS 1897 PUBLISHERS' NOTE "IT is to the great name of Shakspeare, that bond of sympathy among all who speak his language, and to the subject of the work, not to its own merits, that she attributes the success it has met with,-success the more delightful, because, in truth, it was from the very first so entirely unlooked for as to be a matter of surprise as well as of pleasure and gratitude." So wrote Mrs. Jameson in the preface to the second edition of the book,1 which is here reprinted-without alteration or addition except that the title by which it has since become more popularly known has been adopted. In place of illustrating the work with fancy portraits of Shakspeare's heroines, such as the vignette etchings which "embellished" the second edition, it has seemed appropriate to supplement Mrs. Jameson's analysis of the characters, by portraits of celebrated actresses who have played the parts, thus presenting the heroines through the medium by which Shakspeare intended his creations to meet the eye of the public. Idealized conceptions, however skilfully done, are apt to be removed from actuality, while with portraits of women of genius, accustomed 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN-MORAL, POETICAL, AND HISTORICAL. By Mrs. Jameson. Second Edition. 2 Vols. London: Saunders & Ockley. 1833. |