Mary Shaw was not only one of the leading actresses of her day but also a feminist, suffrage activist, and, at times, a writer. Her literary credits include magazine articles on acting and producing plays, and others in which she spoke out about the controversial plays in which she acted, including those in the genre of New Drama by Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. Mary Shaw also wrote two prosuffrage one-act plays, produced locally. Despite her fame and literary activity, Shaw's name has been all but forgotten by scholars, and her contribution to the American stage is only slowly being recognized and discussed. When she is mentioned at all, it is in connection to starring roles in ground-breaking productions of radical plays brought to the American stage. But Shaw devoted her life, public and private, to improving the plight of women throughout the country and serving as...