Brereton, Austin 1862-1922 English drama critic and theatre manager. Irving’s first biography.
“Some of the pictures have been specially drawn for this book, whilst others have been prepared from time to time by the various artists.”--from the author’s Preface.
No-one did more in the Victorian era than Henry Irving (1838-1905) to elevate the status of the stage and the profession of acting and he was rewarded for his efforts with a knighthood – the first actor to receive the accolade.---The London Library Blog
For a different angle biographical view see, Powell, Victoria Elizabeth (2018) The knight from nowhere : a biographical case study of social mobility in Victorian Britain. Doctoral thesis, Birkbeck, University of London. https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40324/