Introduction: The Archival Tourist

The introduction provides context for the main theoretical threads of this book: tourism theory, performance theory, archive theory, and studies of women and material culture. I define and explore the idea of the “archival tourist” along with the strategies involved in curating the individual case studies in the book. In addition, I establish connections among the main figures in the narrative (Elizabeth Inchbald, Sally Siddons, The Countess of Blessington [Marguerite Gardiner], Isabella Beetham, Jane Read, Marie Tussaud, and Amelia M. Watson) and the trajectory of tangible objects (pocket diaries, paintings, magic lanterns, silhouettes, waxworks, and photographs) featured in each chapter.