K ean, E dmund

Abstract

Considered by many to be the greatest actor of the Romantic period, Edmund Kean remains something of an enigma: his early life and even his date of birth (generally thought to be either 1787 or 1789) are shrouded in mystery, and his career (consistently brilliant only from 1814 to 1819) ended with Kean broken and compromised by scandal. Kean's parentage is not entirely certain: his father was most likely also Edmund Kean and his mother was Anne Carey, a sometime actor, sometime prostitute. Various sources agree on certain facts: that Kean was born in London and died in Richmond on 15 May 1833; that he was illegitimate and from the lower classes; and that he began performing at an early age and was considered a dramatic prodigy. His debut at Drury Lane on 26 January 1814 was the major turning point in his life and a defining moment in theatre history. That performance and his long decline and final role as Othello in February 1833 framed not only Kean's career but a dynamic and volatile time in British theatre.