Sarah Siddons grew up as a member of a family troupe of travelling actors,-always poor and often hungry, resorting to foraging for turnips to eat. But-before she was 30 she had become a superstar, her fees greater than any actor --male or female - had previously achieved. Her rise was not easy. Her London debut, aged just 20, was a disaster and could-have condemned her to poverty and anonymity. But the young actress - already-a mother of two - rebuilt her career, returning triumphantly to the capital after-years of remorseless provincial touring. She became Britain-s greatest tragic actress, electrifying audiences with her-performances. Her shows were sell-outs.-Adored by theatre audiences, writers, artists and the royal family alike, Sarah-grasped the importance of her image. She made sure that every leading portrait-painter captured her likeness, so that engravings could be sold to her adoring-public. In an eighteenth-century world of vicious satire and gossip, she also battled to-ma
