Talk:Edith Craig

Source of "Craig"?
Amid the whirl of the names of all of her parent figures, etc., it's hard to see where she acquired the name "Craig". Am I missing something? --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 11:38, 19 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Note now added briefly explaining surname. Jack1956 (talk) 15:31, 19 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The note is not true. Edy and her brother did not take the name 'Craig' until they were much older. ixo (talk) 08:22, 14 November 2021 (UTC) I have finally tracked them down on the 1881 census: their surname was 'Wardell,' from Ellen's marriage to the actor. The children hated him, the marriage broke down anyway; Wardell left and died from drink.ixo (talk) 08:38, 14 November 2021 (UTC)


 * ixo, I hope that User:Jack1956 comments on this, but the ONDB and other sources say that she was given the name "Craig" to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. Then, our entry says, when her mother married Wardell, Craig temporarily took the name Wardell.  Then, presumably when that marriage ended, she resumed the name Craig.  The 1881 census is consistent with this.  If you can prove that any of this is wrong, please show your sources. -- Ssilvers (talk) 21:55, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

Oh, okay Ssilvers. Whilst it is true that the family were distinctly aware of the stigma of illegitimacy as the ONDB states, the story of the adoption of the surname 'Craig' is widely published. Some of the sources are: Ellen Terry's Memoirs (Gollanz, 1933) quoted in Ellen and Edy - Joy Melville, (Pandora, 1987) p.105; A Pride of Terrys - Marguerite Steen, (Longmans, 1962) p189; Edy was a Lady - Ann Rachlin (Matador 2011) p. 88. This last is the most complete explanation. Another version of the story is given by Edward Craig in Gordon Craig (Gollanz 1968), p.57. They all put the date at 1883. The academic Katharine Cockin mentions it on pages 12 and 42 of her book, Edith Craig and the Theatres of the Art, (Bloomsbury,2017), but does not give a date. I expect the ONDB were too short of space to put in the full story of its adoption. I hope this helps. ixo (talk) 10:20, 6 January 2022 (UTC)


 * ixo, do any of these sources state clearly what her surname was before Wardell? If so, which cite and page number?  Thanks!  -- Ssilvers (talk) 14:08, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

Hi there Ssilvers, none of them do, no. I did spend some time on ‘Find my Past’ trying to locate Edy’s birth certificate, but gave up like everyone else. These places are so frustrating. They will throw up an answer one time, then deny all knowledge of it another. I remember seeing that Ellen Terry called herself ‘Mrs Godwin’ in the 1871 census, but have never found that census page again. ixo (talk) 21:09, 22 January 2022 (UTC)


 * I just found this: https://editions.covecollective.org/place/edith-craig -- Ssilvers (talk) 23:25, 22 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Oh! Well done! what you would expect after all :) ixo (talk) 12:50, 12 July 2022 (UTC)

Further reading: WP:COI concerns
A new contributor, User:Kcockin, appears to be Professor Katharine Cockin, an expert on Edith Craig and Ellen Terry. She added a massively long bibliography, including numerous books of her own (see WP:COI). I have cut the list down a bit, but it is still too long. I left a message on the contributor's Talk page and invited her to discuss the additions here. Also, several of the references in the article need page numbers, and other seem duplicative. I'm hoping that she will help us to cull the list further and to eliminate duplicative sources. I look forward to collaborating with her to improve the article. -- Ssilvers (talk) 07:44, 18 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Copied from User:Kcockrin's Talk page: "Re: Edith Craig's adopted daughter This information comes from my book, Edith Craig (1869-1947): Dramatic Lives (Cassell 1998) p. 167. The reference to the source needs to be added to the page." -- Thanks, but this was already included in the list of Sources. -- Ssilvers (talk) 20:02, 18 October 2015 (UTC)


 * User:Kcockrin, can you give a little more detail on Craig's relationship with her mother, and how it changed over the years (please let me know the sources for this info.) I don't think we make it clear enough, currently. Thanks! -- Ssilvers (talk) 06:44, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Edith Craig. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070517111736/http://pa.essortment.com/actressellente_rdpq.htm to http://pa.essortment.com/actressellente_rdpq.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 11:45, 17 September 2017 (UTC)