L'Aiglon; A Play in Six Acts

New York: R. H. Russell, 1900. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Good. 262, [2] pages. Frontis illustration, signed and dated by Maude Adams. Name of previous owner in ink on fep. Illustrations. Cover has some wear and soiling. Maude Ewing Adams Kiskadden (November 11, 1872 - July 17, 1953), known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American actress who achieved her greatest success as Peter Pan, first playing the role in the 1905 Broadway production of Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. Adams's personality appealed to a large audience and helped her become the most successful and highest-paid performer of her day. L'Aiglon ran for 73 performances in 1900 in New York. Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand; 1 April 1868 - 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Another of Rostand's works, Les Romanesques, was adapted to the musical comedy The Fantasticks. L'Aiglon is a play in six acts by Edmond Rostand based on the life of Napoleon II, who was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and his second wife, Empress Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French word for "eaglet" (a young eagle). The title role was created by Sarah Bernhardt in the play's premiere on 15 March 1900 at the Théàtre Sarah Bernhardt. In October of the same year, the play (in an English translation by Louis N. Parker) premiered at New York's Knickerbocker Theatre, with Maude Adams in the title role. Its first performance in London was at His Majesty's Theatre in 1901, with Bernhardt again playing the leading role. Rostand had written L'Aiglon specifically for Bernhardt, and it became one of her signature roles.