Introduction : Caroline's daughters : the actress as writer -- Inventing the Gefühlsschauspielerin : Charlotte Ackermann (1757-75) -- Stages of loss : Sophie Albrecht (1757-1840) -- Amalie's critique of theatrical reason : Marianne Ehrmann (1755-95) -- Antique, modern and eternally beautiful : Elise Bürger (1769-1833) and salon performance