Maud Evelyn Craven Jeffries (14 December 186926 September 1946) was an American actress. A popular subject for a wide range of theatrical post-cards and studio photographs, she was noted for her height,In fact, her original leading man, matinee idol Wilson Barrett, had to wear elevator shoes (see the photograph of Maud Jeffries as "Kate Cregeen" and Wilson Barrett as "Pete" in The Manxman with Jeffries in bare feet and Barret (a) on raised ground and (b) wearing his elevator shoesat ) voice, presence, graceful figure, attractive features, expressive eyes, and beautiful face.
She married James Bunbury Nott Osborne (1878–1934), a wealthy Australian grazier, Boer war veteran, and former aide-de-camp to New Zealand's Governor-General. Osborne was so enamoured of Jeffries that he joined her theatrical company in late 1903 in order to press his suit.Langmore, D, "Jeffries, Maud Evelyn (1869–1946)", in Nairn, B., Pike, D., and Serle, G. (eds.) Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9: 1891-1939 (Gil-Las), Melbourne University Press, (Carlton), 1983.
Engaged in May 1904, they married in October 1904, and had two children together (one of whom died as an infant). Jeffries left the stage in 1906, and continued to live a quiet, very happy life, devoted to her family and her beautifully designed gardens, on their family property, "Bowylie", at Gundaroo, NSW, until her death, at age 76, from cancer.
An audience favourite wherever she went,"Miss Maud Jeffries, that talented young American lady whose supreme merit is gradually entwining itself around the hearts of English playgoers" (Theatre Royal, The Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, (Tuesday, 3 October 1893), p.5). Jeffries' performances over a decade in New York, London, Australia, and New Zealand met wide critical acclaim, especially in the role of Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello and, in particular, for her creation of the role of Mercia in Wilson Barrett's masterpiece The Sign of the Cross. On viewing Jeffries' performance (when just 20) as Almida in Claudian, one critic observed:
Early life and family Jeffries was born on 14 December 1869 at Willow Farm, near Lula in Coahoma County, Mississippi, to James Kenilworth Jeffries (1845–),In several official documents his family name was given as "Jeffreys"; also, note that, due to errors in reading entries in handwritten census records, "James K. Jeffries" has, often, been miss-transcribed as "James H. Jeffries". a cotton planter, and his wife Elizabeth Field Jeffries, née Smith (1847–). She had three younger brothers: Henry (1872–), James K. jnr. (1875–), and Norman Weathers Jeffries (1877–1959).On 2 March 1916, when Norman applied for a passport (19264) -- his occupation was given as "Planter", and the stated object of his travel was "visit to sister" -- an application (19265) was also made for his wife Adeline L. Jeffries, born on 11 November 1887. Norman went with his sister to Australia and New Zealand, as part of her theatre company, in 1897,"Society — Sailed Away: For Sydney", The San Francisco Call, (Sunday, 14 November 1897), p.24;""Wilson Barrett's Arrival", The Sydney Morning Herald, (Monday, 6 December 1897), p.5. and remained with her company until she left the stage in 1906.Amusements, The (Adelaide) Evening Journal, (Friday, 4 May 1906), p.2; "Gals' Gossip", (Brisbane) Truth, (Sunday, 20 May 1906), p.6.
Initially educated at home, and originally intending to become a teacher, from the age of 13 she attended the prestigious Miss Higbee's School for Young Ladies in Memphis, Tennessee."The Higby School took only the best girls from the best families in Memphis — not always the first families [such as] those with places at the Cotton Exchange on Front Street … but always the most respectable families …" (Livingston, 2013). A change in her family's fortunes meant that a career as a teacher was no longer possible, and her family encouraged her to pursue an acting career.Miss Maud Jeffries: Success of a Talented Southern Girl: After a Triumph in England She Goes to Australia to Support Wilson Barrett, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, (Sunday, 19 December 1897), p.22.
Theatrical career From the age of 5, Jeffries regularly entertained her family with recitations; and, once at Miss Higbee's School for Young Ladies, in addition to her elocutionary skills, she also began to display a great talent at music,Miss Higbee’s School, The Memphis Daily Appeal, (Tuesday, 10 June 1884), p.1. and at singing."Braga's Trois Banquette de Marguerite was exquisitely sung by Miss Maud Jeffries, the cadences of her voice filling every ear with delight" (Commencements, The Memphis Daily Appeal, (Tuesday, 13 June 1885), p.4).
Apparently, when offstage, Jeffries was a somewhat modest and shy person;Other exceptionally shy people in real life who have flourished on stage include Bea Arthur (1922-2009) (see Jweekly, 30 April 2009); and Ann-Margret (1941–) (see Saturday Evening Post, 4 May 1963). and, except for (perhaps, only) two occasions throughout her career — in The Memphis Daily Appeal of 9 July 1888,Stage Struck Girls, The Memphis Daily Appeal, (Monday, 9 July 1888), p.5. and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, of 19 December 1897 — she refused to be interviewed by the press.Miss Maud Jeffries on Interviewing, The (Sydney) Sunday Times, (Sunday, 6 March 1898), p.2.
United States (1887–1890) In October 1887, when Jeffries was just seventeen, she performed in Lizzie Evans's new play, Our Angel, at the New Memphis Theatre.
Leaving Memphis on 14 August 1888 for New York,Personal, The Memphis Daily Appeal, (Wednesday, 15 August 1888), p.4. she joined the Lizzie Evans company; however, within three weeks it was reported that "Miss Maud Jeffries has been compelled to give up her engagement with the Lizzie Evans company and has returned home for rest and quiet"Movements of Prominent People, The Memphis Daily Appeal, (Sunday, 2 September 1888), p.10. — with a more detailed account emerging a week later:
In 1889 she went to New York and worked with Augustin Daly's company, playing small parts in pays such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It". Whilst working with Daly's company, she attracted the attention of Wilson Barrett.
England (1890–1892)
Jeffries left the United States on the RMS City of Chester on 6 August 1890,Through the Opera Glass: Personal and Other Jottings, The (San Francisco) Morning Call, (17 August 1890), p.11. and arrived at Liverpool on 16 August 1890.
Her first appearance on the English stage was in a small part in a new play, The People's Idol, that Barrett had written in collaboration with Victor Widnell. She made her English debut, on 4 December 1890, in the play's first public performance:The opening night had been delayed due to problems with the construction of the theatre. on the opening night of The New Olympic Theatre, in London's Drury Lane, an entirely new, purpose-built theatre, which Barrett also managed.
In August 1891, Wilson Barrett discovered that, due to a half forgotten arrangement made several years earlier, his leading lady at the time, "Maud Elmore",Almost certainly, the "Maud Elmore" in question was Alice Maude Mary Ann Belmore-Gastin (1844–1911), née Cooke (mother of Lionel Belmore, Paul Belmore, and Daisy Belmore), who often worked with Barrett, and was usually billed as "Miss Alice Cooke". was contracted to appear with Morris Abrahams at the Pavilion Theatre for the whole of the 1891/1892 season.Theatrical Gossip, The Era, (Saturday, 29 August 1891), p.8.According to Thomas (1984, p.109), another actress, Mary Eastlake (1856–1911) who had been with Barrett for nine years, and had also been his "leading lady", had left Barrett's company a year earlier (towards the end of 1890), by amicable mutual agreement, and was touring the provinces, financed by Barrett — having been given the rights to perform the play "Clito" (co-written by Barrett and Sydney Grundy in 1886). Within days, it was being reported that "Miss Maud Jeffries, a former member of the Daly Company, is now leading lady in Mr. Wilson Barrett's company".Music and the Drama, Berrow's Worcester Journal, (Saturday, 12 September 1891), p.6.
Perhaps her reaction to Barrett's unexpected announcement was somewhat amplified by the fact that, as a consequence of becoming his leading lady, she had to master a total of 14 leading roles in the space of just three weeks.
She soon settled into her new position, and by 22 October 1891, she was playing Desdemona, to Barrett's Othello, in the first performance of an entirely new production of Shakespeare's Othello, that Barrett had adapted to accommodate Jeffries "unique new school acting style" (Thomas, 1894, p. 111). Jeffries was an outstanding success and, throughout the rest of her career, her performances as Desdemona were considered to be amongst her finest roles.
United States (1892–1895)
Barrett's 1892/1893 tour opened in Philadelphia, on 21 November 1892, at the Duquesne Theater, with a performance of Hamlet.
Jeffries was involved in the creation of Wilson Barrett's play The Sign of the Cross, which was originally produced at the Grand Opera House, St. Louis, Missouri on 28 March 1895.Wilson Barrett’s New Play, Kansas City Daily Journal, (Friday, 29 March 1895), p.2.
By the end of 1896, Jeffries was well-established as Barrett's leading lady, and had played opposite Barrett in a wide range of works, including:
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Othello Ben-my-Chree and The Bondman (stage versions of Hall Caine's novels The Deemster and The Bondman respectively) Brandon Thomas' The Color Sergeant Henry Arthur Jones and Henry Herman's Chatterton and The Silver King Barrett's The Miser (adapted from a poem, "A Masque", by Silas Weir Mitchell);See Wilson Barrett's Curtain Raiser, New York Dramatic Mirror, 1890, and, for the poem, "A Masque"). Barrett's The People's Idol (written in collaboration with Victor Widnell) Barrett's The Acrobat (a version of Charles Dillon's Belphegor) Barrett's Jenny the Barber Henry Arthur Jones's A Clerical Error Barrett's Our Pleasant SinsIt was originally written (in 1892) collaboration with Charles Hannan; however, by mid-1893, Barrett was claiming that he had so thoroughly rewritten the play that "it was no longer Mr. Hannan's work" (World Players, The New York Clipper, (Saturday, 27 May 1893), p.182). Barrett's Pharoah Benjamin Thompson's The Stranger (a version of the melodramatic Menschenhass und Reue ("Misanthropy and Repentance") of August von Kotzebue) W. G. Wills' Claudian James Sheridan Knowles' Virginius Barrett's own masterpiece, The Sign of the Cross
Australia (1897–1898) One of the unusual features of the company Barrett brought to Australia was that it also contained the brothers of three of his female stars:See, for example, the classified advertisement for the Perth performance of Claudian in June 1898: Amusements, The West Australian, (Saturday, 18 June 1898), p.1. Norman Jeffries, the brother of Maud Jeffries, Daniel McCarthy, the brother of Lillah McCarthy, and Paul Belmore, the brother of Daisy Belmore (1874–1954).Daisy Gertrude Belmore-Garstin married Samuel Waxman, a Melbourne solicitor and barrister, on 9 April 1902 (see Marriages: Waxman—Belmore Garstin, The Australasian, (Saturday, 17 May 1902), p.1164); as well as Paul, she was also the sister of Lionel Belmore (see "Mr. Lionel Belmore", (Mebourne) Table Talk, (Thursday 23 May 1918), p.2).