Margaret Agnes Bunn (26 October 1799 – 1883) was a

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actress.

Early life

She was born Margaret Somerville in

Lanark, Scotland Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9, ...

in October 1799. Her father, John Somerville, was a

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maker. The family lived in

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. She attended Misses Trigge in

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and Misses Curtess in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

. Her teachers and family took notice of her acting ability at a young age. In 1815, she met

Douglas Kinnaird The Honourable Douglas James William Kinnaird (26 February 1788 – 12 March 1830) was an English banker, politician, friend of Lord Byron and amateur cricketer. He was a Managing Partner in the banking firm of Ransom & Co. He also briefly served ...

. She tried out for ''Belvidera'' and was rejected due to being "unequal to the character." She was asked to rehearse again, that same year, before Kinnaird and

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

. Eventually, she made it to stage. On 9 May 1816 she made her first stage appearance in the tragedy '' Bertram''. She played as Miss Somerville. She played that roll for three years.

Mid-life and career

On 6 January 1818 she created the character Bianca, which was seen in the play '' Fazio'', by

Dean Milman Henry Hart Milman (10 February 1791 – 24 September 1868) was an England, English historian and ecclesiastic. Life He was born in London, the third son of Sir Francis Milman, 1st Baronet, physician to King George III of Great Britain, Geo ...

. She eventually quit performing on

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

. She moved onto appearing on

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, where she debuted Bianca on 22 October 1818. A few weeks later, on 9 November, she debuted as Alicia in ''

Jane Shore Elizabeth "Jane" Shore (née Lambert) (c. 1445 – c. 1527) was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England. She became the best-known to history through being later accused of conspiracy by the future King Richard III, and compelled ...

''. By 1819, she was performing in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. She met and married

Alfred Bunn Alfred Bunn (April 8, 1796 in LondonDecember 20, 1860 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) was an English theatrical manager. He was married to Margaret Agnes (née Somerville) Bunn, a minor actress, in 1819. Biography Bunn was appointed stage manager of D ...

. Her husband relocated to Drury Lane to create a management company for actors. She returned to the theater on Drury Lane on 27 October 1823, as Bianca. She also performed between 1823 and 1824 in ''Kenilworth'', playing the debut role of Queen Elizabeth. She also as Herminone in ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'', and debuted Cornelia in Sheridan Knowles '' Caius Gracchus''.

Later life and death

Bunn stopped performing by 1883. She died that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunn, Margaret Agnes 1799 births 1883 deaths People from Lanark 19th-century British actresses British stage actresses