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Relationships of Menken, Adah

To explore the relationships between the various bohemian writers and artists who frequented Pfaff's bar, select a person or group, and then select a relationship type. This section of the site is currently under construction; new content is being added on a regular basis.

Displaying 1 - 23 of 23

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acquaintances

Clare, Ada (1836-1874)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Menken met Clare at Pfaff's.

Daly, John Augustin (1838-1899)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Augustin Daly claims Menken's real name was Adelaide McCord.

O'Brien, Fitz-James (1826-1862)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Menken met O'Brien at Pfaff's.

Twain, Mark (1835-1910)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Twain saw Menken perform in San Francisco.

Ward, Artemus (1834-1867)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Ward saw Menken perform in San Francisco.

Whitman, Walt (1819-1892)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Menken met Whitman at Pfaff's.

antagonists

Twain, Mark (1835-1910)

Schanke, Robert A. and Kimberley Bell Marra, eds. Passing Performances : Queer Readings of Leading Players in American Theater History. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998. 338 p. [pages:73]

Mark Twain was not as taken with Menken as other male writers were and was actually quite critical of what Thomas Schirer calls Menken's "substitution of sexual illusion for acting ability."

collaborators

Brougham, John (1810-1880)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

Menken appeared in a short run of one of Brougham's plays The Children of the Sun.

Clare, Ada (1836-1874)

Odell, George Clinton. Annals of the New York Stage: Volume VII (1857-1865). New York: Columbia University Press, 1931. [pages:111,353,356,357,389,401,468,498]

It is very likely that Ada Clare appeared onstage with Menken, Brougham, and others.

Daly, John Augustin (1838-1899)

Menken, Adah Isaacs. "Current Literature--Adah Issacs Menken, Some Notes of Her Life in Her Own Hand." The New York Times. 16 Sep. 1868: 2-3. [pages:2-3]

Daly writes the introduction to Menken's short autobiography.

Montez, Lola (1820-1861)

Personne [Wilkins, Edward G. P.]. "Dramatic Feuilleton." New York Saturday Press. 15 Mar. 1859: 3. [pages:3]

Personne (Wilkins) describes Menken as "a prarie Lola Montez" (3).

Newell, Robert Henry (1836-1901)

Allen, Gay Wilson. The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman. New York: MacMillan, 1955. [pages:262]

Henry Newell, editor of the New York Sunday Mercury, "had been attracted by this vivacious woman" and began printing her poetry in early 1860.

Whitman, Walt (1819-1892)

Allen, Gay Wilson. The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman. New York: MacMillan, 1955. [pages:262]

Menken wrote an extremely favorable review of Whitman's Leaves of Grass which was published in the Sunday Mercury.

Holloway, Emory. Free and Lonesome Heart: The Secret of Walt Whitman. New York: Vantage Press, 1960. [pages:109-110, 115]

Menken was an enthusiastic admirer of Whitman's work, and she may have written an enthusiastic review of Leaves of Grass for the Sunday Mercury.

family

Newell, Robert Henry (1836-1901)

Brown, T. Allston. " 3 Vols." A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901. New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1903.

In 1862 she married Pfaffian Robert Henry Newell (Orpheus C. Kerr), but the union did not last.

friends

Clare, Ada (1836-1874)

Allen, Gay Wilson. The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman. New York: MacMillan, 1955. [pages:262]

Clare and Menken are said to have been "great friends."

Holloway, Emory. Free and Lonesome Heart: The Secret of Walt Whitman. New York: Vantage Press, 1960. [pages:109-110, 115]

Menken is mentioned as a friend of Ada Clare.

Lalor, Eugene. "Whitman among the New York Literary Bohemians: 1859–1862." Walt Whitman Review. 25(1979): 131-145. [pages:141]

Menken is listed as Clare's fellow traveler.

Parry, Albert. Garrets and Pretenders: A History of Bohemianism in America. New York: Covici, Friede, 1933. [pages:28]

Clare traveled to California in 1864 to join Adah Menken.

Schanke, Robert A. and Kimberley Bell Marra, eds. Passing Performances : Queer Readings of Leading Players in American Theater History. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998. 338 p. [pages:75-76]

Menken and Clare are usually mentioned in connection with each other.

Sentilles, Renee M. Performing Menken: Adah Isaacs Menken and the Birth of American Celebrity. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2003. [pages:142-143]

Ada Clare formed a friendship with Adah Menken around 1860.

Eytinge, Rose (1838-1911)

Eytinge, Rose. The Memories of Rose Eytinge: Being Recollections & Observations of Men, Women, and Events, during Half a Century. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1905. [pages:311]

Eytinge says of Menken's voice "never, either before or since, have I heard anything so perfect in sound as that voice."

Whitman, Walt (1819-1892)

Lalor, Eugene. "Whitman among the New York Literary Bohemians: 1859–1862." Walt Whitman Review. 25(1979): 131-145. [pages:141]

Menken was one of the women that came to Whitman's aid in defending his controversial poems.