''A Peep Behind the Scenes'' is a British novel by O.F. Walton, first published in 1877. It portrays the life of a travelling

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

and in particular Rosalie, a girl who works as part of a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

troupe under her domineering father. It was Walton's best-known work.

Film adaptations

The novel was twice turned into silent films. In 1918

Kenelm Foss Kenelm Foss (13 December 1885 – 28 November 1963) was a British actor, theatre director, author, screenwriter and film director. Early life and education He was born in Croydon, Surrey and studied art at the Wellesley School of Art and in Par ...

directed '' A Peep Behind the Scenes'' starring

Ivy Close Ivy Lilian Close (15 June 1890 – 4 December 1968) was a British actress. She acted in 44 films between 1912 and 1929.

and

Gerald Ames Gerald Ames (12 September 1880 – 2 July 1933) was a British actor, film director and Olympic fencer. Ames was born in Blackheath, London in 1880 and first took up acting in 1905. He was a popular leading man in the post-First World War cinema ...

. In 1929

Jack Raymond Jack Raymond (1886–1953) was an English actor and film director. Born in Wimborne, Dorset in 1886, he began acting before the First World War in '' A Detective for a Day''. In 1921 he directed his first film and gradually he wound down his a ...

made a further version.Low p.426-27

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971. 1877 British novels Novels set in England Novels by O.F. Walton British novels adapted into films Circus books {{1870s-novel-stub