Bettymania: How child actor William ‘Master’ Betty took 19th-century theatre by storm

Actor William ‘Master’ Betty took British theatre and society by storm in the early 19th century, enjoying mass adulation as a child prodigy – but his fame evaporated almost as quickly as it had materialised. Nick Smurthwaite delves into his brief career and talks to Michael Arditti, whose new book examines the Master Betty phenomenon