Karl Marx: A biography by David McLellan

SELECT CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY^208

she inherited in her nose and mouth the Jewish type from Marx himself,

while she possessed a physical energy and determination fully equal to

bis own, and an intelligence which never achieved the literary or politi-

cal success - for she was a keen politician as well as sociologist - of

which she was capable. Possibly, she felt herself somewhat over-

shadowed by her father's genius, whose defects she was unable to see.^22

In the late 1870 s Eleanor made an effort to build a career on the

Interest in drama that she had inherited from her parents. The Marx

l.miily had always been intensely interested in Shakespeare and became

In vent admirers of the new interpretation given to the tragedies by Henry

li ving: Jenny Marx, aided by Eleanor, had a series of articles published

in the Frankfurter Zeitung defending Irving and his 'peculiar, faithful and

original picture of Shakespeare'.^23 Eleanor was a keen member of Furni-

vall's New Shakespeare Society and a friend of actors and actresses like

I' 1 nest Radford and Dolly Maitland. She was also a member of a Shake-

speare reading club which often met at the Marxes' house. One of its

members, Mrs Marian Comyn, gave the following description of Marx at

one of the meetings:

As an audience he was delightful, never criticising, always entering into

the spirit of any fun that was going on, laughing when anything struck

him as particularly comic, until the tears ran down his cheeks - the

oldest in years, but in spirit as young as any of us. And his friend,

1 he faithful Frederic Engels, was equally spontaneous.^24

Itiii however much he may have enjoyed the club meetings, Marx did not

favour acting as a career for his daughter and Eleanor did not perform

publicly until July 1881 (when she appeared in two one-act French plays).

I ngels was in the audience and reported to Marx: 'Tussy was very good

in 1 lie passionate scenes, though it was somewhat noticeable that she took

I lien lerry as a model, as Radford took Irving, but she will soon get out

11 I that habit; if she wishes to have an effect on the public, she must

absolutely strike out a line of her own, and I'm sure she will.'^25 Although

line erupted by the illnesses and deaths of her parents, Eleanor persisted

m Iter ambition and eventually, together with her future husband Edward

AM ling, made a significant contribution to the theatre of the time.

II. WORK

Dining the years of the International Marx had little time for pursuing
In. economic studies. At the end of November 1871 Meissner informed
I1I11 1 that the first edition of Capital was almost completely sold out and