ILLUSTRATIONS
| Sarah Bernhardt | Frontispiece |
| FACING PAGE | |
| Helena Modjeska | 52 |
| Ellen Terry | 92 |
| Gabrielle Réjane | 126 |
| Eleonora Duse | 170 |
| Ada Rehan | 202 |
| Mary Anderson | 230 |
| Mrs. Fiske | 264 |
| Julia Marlowe | 298 |
| Maude Adams | 324 |
A series of concise biographies and critical sketches of leading stage actresses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Each chapter reconstructs an individual career—early life and training, notable roles and acting style, public reception, and professional achievements—covering both European figures and American performers. The volume closes with brief accounts of additional contemporary American actresses and is supplemented by portraits, an appendix, and a bibliography that document sources and illustrate theatrical contexts.
| Sarah Bernhardt | Frontispiece |
| FACING PAGE | |
| Helena Modjeska | 52 |
| Ellen Terry | 92 |
| Gabrielle Réjane | 126 |
| Eleonora Duse | 170 |
| Ada Rehan | 202 |
| Mary Anderson | 230 |
| Mrs. Fiske | 264 |
| Julia Marlowe | 298 |
| Maude Adams | 324 |