European Years
Menken had the urge to travel. She arranged to play in a production of Mazeppa in London and France for much of 1864-1866, when she swiftly conquered London and Paris. Productions frequently traveled between New York and London, and were promoted in each. The sensational aspects of the production attracted attention before the show opened (adding to the publicity.)
Controversy arose over her costume, and she responded to critics in the newspapers of London by saying that she was influenced by classical sculpture, and that her costume was more modest than those of ballet or burlesque. The show opened October 3, 1864 at the Astley Theatre to "overflowing houses." She was so well known that she was referred to as "the Menken", needing no other name.
Jokes and poems were printed about the controversy, and Punch wrote:
"Here's half the town - if bills be true -
To Astley's nightly thronging,
To see the Menken throw aside
All to her sex belonging,
Stripping off woman's modesty,
With woman's outward trappings -
A barebacked jade on barebacked steed,
In Cartlich's old strappings!"
This period established her lasting image. The highest earning actress of her time, she was generous to friends, theatre people in need, and charities. While in Europe, the Menken continued to play to the American public as well, in terms of her image. As usual, she attracted a crowd of male admirers, including such prominent figures as the writer Charles Dickens, the humorist Tom Hood, and the dramatist and novelist Charles Reade.
After spending some time in the United States, she returned to Europe, and performed in Mazeppa. Playing in a sold-out run of Les pirates de la savanne in Paris in 1866, Menken was delighted with her reception in France. She also had an affair with the French novelist Alexandre Dumas, pere, considered somewhat scandalous as he was more than twice her age. Returning to England in 1867, she struggled to attract audiences to Mazeppa and attendance fell off. Maintaining her appeal to men, she had an affair with the English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne.
Menken fell ill in London and was forced to stop performing. Her fame and fortune dissipated quickly, and she struggled with poverty. Her last try to gain some income through art was preparing her poems for publication, and she still longed to be taken seriously as a poet. She moved back to Paris, where she died in 1868. She had just written a friend:
“I am lost to art and life. Yet, when all is said and done, have I not at my age tasted more of life than most women who live to be a hundred? It is fair, then, that I should go where old people go.”
She was believed to have died of peritonitis and/or tuberculosis, which was then incurable. Late twentieth-century sources suggest she had cancer. She was buried in the Jewish section of Pere-Lachaise Cemetery.
Her only book Infelicia, a collection of 31 poems, was published several days after her death.
Read more about this topic: Adah Isaacs Menken
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