Early years Robertson was born in
Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire on 9 January 1829. and was the eldest son of
William Shaftoe Robertson and his wife, Margharetta Elisabetta (
née Marinus), a Danish-born actress. Robertson senior had been articled to a lawyer, but abandoned the law to become an actor, and was taken on by his uncle's Lincoln Circuit Company, of which he afterwards became manager. Many of Robertson's large family of siblings went on the stage, including his brothers Frederick and Edward, and his sisters Fanny, Elizabeth and Margaret, the last subsequently famous as
Madge Kendal. He made his first appearance on the stage in June 1834 at the age of five as Hamish, the son of the title character in
Rob Roy, and played roles including Cora's child in
Sheridan's
Pizarro and the Count's child in
Kotzebue's
The Stranger. At the age of seven Robertson was sent to
Spalding Academy, and then to a school in
Whittlesey, acting with the family's theatrical company during the school holidays. When he was about 15 his schooling ceased and he rejoined the company full-time, not only as an actor, but also, according to his biographer Michael R. Booth, "as a scene painter, songwriter, playwright, prompter, and stage-manager".
London Robertson moved to London, earning a meagre living, writing and taking such acting parts as he could get. His biographer
T. Edgar Pemberton wrote, "The amount of work that he did there during his early struggling days was prodigious. In addition to writing and adapting plays he contributed stories, essays, and verses to many magazines: dramatic criticisms to several newspapers: and ephemeral work to numerous comic journals". ,
H.J.Byron,
W.S.Gilbert and
Tom Hood|alt= head and shoulders photographs of four youngish white men; the first and third have moustaches and beards, the other two have moustaches In 1851 Robertson had a new play presented in the
West End, ''A Night's Adventure'', a comic drama set in the time of the
Jacobite rising of 1745. He hoped this would be start of a successful career as a dramatist, but the play was not a success, closing after four nights, and he continued to scratch a living as a writer and actor. Together with
H. J. Byron, who became a close friend, he put on an entertainment at the
Gallery of Illustration, without success. He worked as a prompter at the
Olympic Theatre, tried unsuccessfully to join the army, and travelled to Paris with a company giving a season of English plays there. In 1855, while playing at the
Queen's Theatre, he met a 19-year-old actress, Elizabeth Burton. They were married in July the following year; they had a son and three daughters. After their wedding the Robertsons toured Ireland before returning to act in London and the provinces. Robertson's farcical sketch
The Cantab, staged as an after-piece at the Strand Theatre in February 1861, attracted the attention of a
Bohemian literary set, and led to his becoming a member of the
Savage, Arundel and Reunion Clubs, where, in the words of his biographer
Joseph Knight, "he enlarged his observation of human nature, and whence he drew some curious types". Success remained elusive, and Robertson considered giving up writing and becoming a tobacconist. the success of the production advanced the author's career. This play was his breakthrough. London managements turned it down, but through Byron's influence it was produced in
Liverpool, where it was a critical and popular success.
Society ran for 26 weeks – 150 performances – a notable run for the time, establishing the fortunes of the theatre, as well as those of the author. It was revived several times during the next two decades, and was given nearly 500 performances under Wilton's (later the
Bancrofts') management. Between the Liverpool and London openings, Robertson suffered the loss of his wife, who died on 14 August after months of ill health. but ran only briefly, and Robertson did not return to the musical theatre. In 1869 Clay asked him for a second libretto, but he declined and instead gave Clay an introduction to "a better man than I shall ever be", namely Gilbert, who collaborated with Clay on the successful
Ages Ago. The success of
Society established Robertson as a playwright and enabled him to have a decisive voice in the staging of his subsequent plays. His next, the comedy
Ours, was first given in August 1866 at the Prince of Wales's, Liverpool, under his personal direction with a cast that included Wilton,
Squire Bancroft (her future husband and partner) and
John Hare. The play transferred to the Prince of Wales's in London the following month and ran for 150 performances.
The Times remarked on the "ultra-real" nature of the piece and of its staging.
"A complete reformation of the modern drama" During the run of
Ours, Robertson, Gilbert, Scott and others contributed short stories to a collection edited by Tom Hood. Robertson's, "The Poor-Rate Unfolds a Tale", formed the basis for his next play at the Prince of Wales's, but before that he had two plays staged at other London theatres:
Shadow-Tree Shaft, a drama, at the
Princess's, and
A Rapid Thaw, an adaptation of a
Sardou comedy, at the
St James's. a judgement with which analysts in the 20th and 21st centuries have concurred. They became engaged in August 1867, married at the British consulate in
Frankfurt on 17 October, They had a daughter and a son. Once back in London, Robertson continued to write and direct. In February 1868
Play was produced at the Prince of Wales's. It ran for 106 performances and was followed by a successful revival of
Society. Robertson had written
Society with Sothern in mind, but the actor had been unavailable. In late 1868 Robertson adapted
Émile Augier's comedy '' L'Aventurière
, presented at the Haymarket as Home'', with Sothern in the lead role, and
Ada Cavendish as Mrs Pinchbeck, in January 1869. It had a good run of 136 performances, but was outstripped by Robertson's
School – loosely based on
Roderich Benedix's
Aschenbrödel – which opened at the Prince of Wales's in the same month and ran for 381 performances. He was unable to supervise the production of
M. P. or even to attend the first night. The company went to his house and gave him a private performance. The theatre was closed that night in tribute to Robertson – an exceptional honour, according to
The Times: ==Plays==