Marion Marlowe Entrapped, or, The Victim of Professional Jealousy

# Marion Marlowe Entrapped; or, The Victim of Professional Jealousy

This serial by Grace Shirley, appearing in My Queen, a weekly periodical for young women, centers on operatic intrigue in New York's theatrical world. Musical critic Howard Everett becomes entranced upon discovering the stunning seventeen-year-old Marion Marlowe (performing as "Ila de Parloa") at Manager Clayton Graham's office. Graham reveals that Marion, who arrived penniless from the countryside six months prior, was once briefly engaged by a rival theater manager and later worked as a nurse before joining Graham's company. The prima donna Carlotta, jealous and aging, confronts Graham demanding he cease favoring Marion. When Graham praises Marion's virtue and modesty, Carlotta vows vengeance. Upon encountering the sympathetic Marion backstage, Carlotta, despite her fury, feigns grief and begins to manipulate the naive young singer, requesting an unspecified favor—a scheme driven by professional jealousy and romantic betrayal.