Charlotte Charke's father, Colley Cibber, was one of the eighteenth-century's great actor/playwrights - the toast of the British aristocracy, a favourite of the king. When his high spirited, often rebellious daughter, Charlotte, revealed a fondness for things theatrical, it was thought that the young actress would follow in his footsteps at the legendary Drury Lane, creating a brilliant career on the London stage. But this was not to be. And it was not that Charlotte lacked talent - she was gifted, particularly at comedy. Troublesome, however was her habit of dressing in men's clothes - a preference first revealed onstage but adopted elsewhere after her disastrous marriage to an actor, who became the last man she ever loved.