- Date:
- 1860
- Original Format:
- Photographic Print
- Item#:
- MES17991
Adah Isaacs Menken (1835-1868)
Adah Isaacs Menken was an actress and poet. She was famous for her performance in "Mazeppa," by Lord Byron. She was good friends with Walt Whitman and George Sand. Her book of poetry, "Infelicia," was dedicated to Charles Dickens, one of her mentors. She is well known for her affairs with men of letters, including Alexandre Dumas and Algernon Charles Swinburne. She married Robert Newell, the writer. In this photo she is wearing the costume that scandalized Victorian audiences. Menken had several husbands.