Mrs Jordan's Profession: The Story of a Great Actress And a Future King by Claire. Tomalin
This book looks at 19th-century British actresses, from the regency period to the outbreak of World War I. The book's underlying theme is the extraordinary way in which actresses formed a separate social caste, existing alongside, but differing hugely, from the general run of women in their economic independence, geographical and social mobility, professional status and sexual freedom.