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Sophie Larkin

English actress (1833-1903)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 6, 2026
Entity authorityQ110286896
Source-derived summary

Sophie Larkin (1833–1903) was an English actress of the late Victorian era. She created roles in plays by T. W. Robertson and in the long-running play Our Boys by H. J. Byron.

Life

Larkin's London debut was in 1865 at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in Naval Engagements. At the same theatre she subsequently appeared in leading roles in the original productions of plays by T. W. Robertson: in November 1865 as Lady Ptarmigant in Society; in September 1866 as Lady Shendryn in Ours; and in April 1867 as the Marquise de Saint-Maur in Caste. Robertson in these plays wrote the parts to suit the resident actors and actresses.

In January 1868 at St James's Theatre she created the part of Mrs Erskine Meek in The Needful, a comedy by H. T. Craven, and in the following month appeared in a revival of Craven's The Chimney Corner at the same theatre. Later that year she joined the company of Fanny Josephs at the Holborn Theatre, and appeared there in April in The White Fawn by F. C. Burnand, and in 1869 in a revival of Craven's Miriam's Crime. In April 1870 she appeared at St James's Theatre in Frou-Frou, produced by Mademoiselle Beatrice. In October 1871 she appeared at the Globe Theatre in the original production of Partners for Life by H. J. Byron.

In 1874, 1879 and 1880 Larkin appeared in West End productions of Two Roses, by James Albery.

Editorial summary

“Sophie Larkin” enters the record as english actress (1833-1903). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sophie, Larkin and English can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1833, 1903, 1865, 1866—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1833-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Sophie, Larkin and English.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Sophie Larkin” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Sophie, Larkin and English provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q110286896. VIAF identifies the subject as 43864167. The Library of Congress control number is no92003106. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1833, 1903, 1865 and 1866.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

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  2. Expand the search: follow Sophie Larkin primary sources, Sophie Larkin archive and Sophie research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Sophie Larkin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.