Sarah Siddons

Sarah Siddons grew up as a member of a family troupe of travelling actors, always poor and often hungry, resorting to foraging for turnips to eat. But before she was 30 she had become a superstar, her fees greater than any actor - male or female - had previously achieved.

Her rise was not easy. Her London debut, aged just 20, was a disaster and could have condemned her to poverty and anonymity. But...