History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

In June 1905, Grace Hawthorne starred in the title role of the play ‘Josephine’ at the Kilburn Empire. Born in America as Priscilla Cartland, she was discovered by manager William W Kelly who brought her to London in 1886 and gave her the stage name of Grace Hawthorne. Known to his colleagues as ‘Hustler’ Kelly, he made sure Grace was the first American actress to take the capital by storm. They were very successful with a play called ‘A Royal Divorce’. This about Napoleon and the Empress Josephine and was performed across the country for many years from 1891. With help from Kelly, Grace became the lessee of the Princess's Theatre in Oxford Street and several other theatres but ran into financial difficulties. She wore extravagant costumes which cost £1,500 and had run up debts of £14,000 when she went bankrupt. Grace and Kelly ended their professional partnership, but William continued touring ‘A Royal Divorce’ with his wife Edith Cole playing the role of Josephine.  The actor Joh...