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Charles Selby

(circa 1802-1863), Actor and dramatist

Sitter in 2 portraits
In 1832, Charles Selby was a member of the company at the Strand Theatre, and two years later produced a farce, The Unfinished Gentleman, at the Adelphi. From the quasi-autobiographical revelations in this work it appears that Selby was self-educated, had visited Barbados, and had some nautical experience. During his thirty years as an actor and playwright Selby performed principally character parts and supplied a long series of plays, mainly farces. One of his most successful pieces was Robert Macaire (1836), a three-act melodrama that had a long life on the stage and became one of Henry Irving's stock pieces.

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Charles Selby

by Herbert Watkins
albumen print, arched top, late 1850s
NPG P301(155)

Charles Selby

by Herbert Watkins
albumen print, arched top, late 1850s
NPG P301(156)

Related People

Clara Selby (Sarah Susannah Selby) (wife)

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Charles Selby