Assumptions
These assumptions first appeared in the local press (Camden New Journal) on the 27th May 2021.
They were based on a piece published in The History of Kilburn and West Hampstead - an informative and entertaining blog authored by Marianne Colloms and Dick Weindling.
The Times and The Daily Telegraph, two national newspapers of record, did not hesitate to follow suit - nor did the Wikipedia for that matter - but how accurate was, in this case, the 'storians research?
Two details
Two details immediately caught my attention ... The first, was Adrienne Corri's name - a well-known actress - appearing in the context of another, never-heard-of actor.
This was odd, particularly since Electra Yaras (the other "actress") had previously been described in the press as a tour director - not as an actor. Why an "actress" now?
Could this have been a subliminal designed to sell a story?
The second, was a credit at the end:
This was probably meant to add a patina of credibility to the piece, except
I happened to remember the gentleman's name in connection with a book by Adrienne Corri. Here, two relevant passages from it:
Adrienne Corri in "The Search for Gainsborough" (p.58), Vanguard Press, N.Y., 1985
One-upmanship?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, one-upmanship refers to "a situation in which someone does or says something in order to prove or suggest that they are better than someone else" …
Adrienne's remark on page 262 (op.cit.) is equally pertinent:
"To make an honest mistake is not the end of the world, but to
have lost the wish to find the truth, or to deny it because it is not
your truth, is bigotry."
Adrienne Corri
© Getty Images/Harold Clements
Trails of thought
A: Could the gentleman's antipathy towards Adrienne Corri - his one-upmanship as she put it - given him a subconscious motive to settle an old score and, in the process, lead the 'storians astray?
B: Preposterous! The gentleman in question was, at the time, curating Lillie Langtry's page on the Wikipedia (screenshots below) and perhaps one thing led to another. No conspiracy theories are necessary …
Screenshots from Wikipedia
A: OK then. Perhaps the gentleman needed a published source to make a point on the Pedia and, found a way to have others doing it for him - out of admiration, say...
B: Absurd!
A: What about the "two actresses" mise-en-scène?
B: What about them?
A: Was Electra Yaras an "actress" too? Or was it all a play with denotation and connotation? The intuitive use of Semiotics?
B: What do you mean ?
A: I mean, to make it all sound more credible ...
This was tantamount to suggest that there had been some tacit agreement between two "actresses" to create the "myth" of Lillie Langtry and Leighton House - to try and prevent its demolition! Pure promotional skills!
B: Come on!
A: Well, it is common knowledge that actors can live truthfully under imaginary circumstances, and here we had two actresses - as if it were - on the stage of public opinion "doing their thing". That would certainly help sell the scoop they had in mind …
B: Ludicrous!
A: Admittedly, but these were exactly the kind of stray-thoughts that were driving my lateral thinking. No allegations made or implied!
One thing was for sure, the Sherlock in me was hooked and, you know what Mr. Holmes used to say (off the record)? "Everyone is guilty until proven innocent ..."
And so I decided to start my own investigation …
> Next: "The Investigation Starts"
