The Incomparable Hester Santlow

In the first full-length account of the English dancer-actress Hester Santlow, Moira Goff traces this remarkable woman's career at Drury Lane between 1706 and 1733. Making extensive use of archival resources, Goff demonstrates Santlow's unique contribution to the development of dance on the London stage, and examines Santlow's fascinating personal life, including her relationships with the politician James Craggs the Younger and the Drury Lane actor-manager Barton Booth.

Moira Goff researches, reconstructs and performs European theatre and ballroom dancing of the early eighteenth century. She is also a curator of rare books at the British Library, London, UK.

Contents: Preface; The young dancer, 1694?-1709; Dancer and actress, 1709-1712; James Craggs; Theatre rivalries, 1713-1715; 'Dramatic entertainments of dancing', 1715-1719; Barton Booth; Business as usual, 1719-1723; Mimes and pantomimes, 1723-1728; 'The incomparable Mrs Booth', 1728-1733; 'Happy beyond expression', 1733-1773; Appendix: glossary of 18th-century dance terms; Bibliography; Index.