THE HISTORY OF POLLY BOWLER by Herself: As told to Keith Dewhurst

The History of Polly Bowler by award-winning writer Keith Dewhurst is set in the precarious world of Victorian theatre. When her mother dies in childbirth and her father flees to escape transportation for machine-smashing, Polly Bowler and her younger brother run away from their harsh working life in a Lancashire cotton mill and join a company of strolling players.

Polly Bowler tells the story of her coming of age with all the vigour of the times as she grows into a woman and understands all that entails. There is no shortage of suitors, but it is leading man Tom Dorchester who holds her heart. Eventually Polly and Jem reach London and Polly becomes a great star. Her life glitters with the celebrities of the day but when an irresistible offer arises the dilemma at the centre of her life and of her satisfaction as a woman, remains: delightful, unreliable, opium-addicted Tom Dorchester.