Charles Selby (c. 1802 – 1863) was a 19th-century English actor and playwright, and translator of many French plays (often without attribution, not uncommon at the time). Among his works was ''The Marble Heart'' (1854), a translation of

Théodore Barrière Théodore Barrière (1823 – 16 October 1877), French playwright, was born in Paris. He belonged to a family of map engravers which had long been connected with the war department, and spent nine years in that service himself. The success of ...

's ''Les Filles de marbre''. The play is best known today for a 9 November 1863 performance in Washington, D.C., where President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

watched John Wilkes Booth, playing the villain Raphael. Booth directed some of his threatening lines directly to Lincoln, causing one of Lincoln's party to remark "he looks as if he meant that for you." Lincoln agreed, noting "he does look pretty sharp at me, doesn't he?"(30 December 2013)
The Lincolns and the Booths
''The New York Times''Charles Selby (circa 1802-1863), Actor and dramatist
National Portrait Gallery Selby died at his home in

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 ...

, London, on 21 March 1863 and buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.

Selected works (incomplete)

*''The Unfinished Gentleman'' (1834) *'' Robert Macaire'' (1834) (adaptation of

Frédérick Lemaître Antoine Louis Prosper "Frédérick" Lemaître (28 July 1800 – 26 January 1876) was a French actor and playwright, one of the most famous players on the celebrated Boulevard du Crime. Biography Lemaître, the son of an architect, was bo ...

play) *''Hunting a Turtle'' (1834), a farce in one act *''Maximums and Speciments of William Muggins'' (book) (1841) *''Young Mother'' (1841), a comic drama in one act *''The Married Rake'' (1834), a farce *''

Barnaby Rudge ''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens publ ...

'' (1841) (adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

novel with Charles Melville) *''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1842) (translation from French) *''Boots at the Swan'' (1847), a farce in one act *''Peggy Green'' (1847) comic drama *''The Marble Heart'' (1854) (translation of ''Les Filles de marbre'') *''A Phantom Breakfast'' (1856), a farce in one act *''The Dinner Question'' (cookbook) (1860), as "Tabitha Tickletooth"Kapoor, Sybil (7 August 1999)
Food & Drink: Cook Book of the Week
''The Independent''

References

External links

* * 1802 births 1863 deaths Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English male dramatists and playwrights English translators 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century English male actors 19th-century British translators 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male stage actors 19th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers {{UK-playwright-stub