At an opening night party, Muriel Casterton celebrated her stage debut, her first first for the night and Udolpho Wolfe her next. It was an instant, all consuming, intoxicating and lifelong thing. She failed to show up for rehearsals soon after. Her critically acclaimed performances waned under Udolpho’s influence. Family and friends knew about him and her fiancé was aware of her obsession. Idle gossipers blamed Udolpho for a sudden and premature end to the career of a “rising star”. The infatuated grazier, David Mackay from Seymour, wanted no other. He married knowing full well that she would not give up Udolpho.

If you are interested in reading the rest of this story visit http://springdale.org.au/muriel-and-udolpho/ or call into SpringDale for a copy. This has been submitted by a member of the SpringDale writers Group.