Amelia Opie
Encyclopedia
Amelia Opie, née Alderson (12 November 1769 – 2 December 1853), was an English
author who published numerous novels in the Romantic Period of the early 19th century, through 1828.
, a physician
, and Amelia Briggs of Norwich, England. She was a cousin of notable judge Edward Hall Anderson, with whom she corresponded throughout her life, and also a cousin of notable artist Henry Perronet Briggs
.
Miss Alderson had inherited radical principles and was an ardent admirer of John Horne Tooke
. She was close to activists John Philip Kemble
, Sarah Siddons
, William Godwin
and Mary Wollstonecraft
.
, the painter. The nine years of her married life before her husband's death were happy, although her husband did not share her love of society. With his encouragement, in 1801 she completed a novel entitled Father and Daughter, which showed genuine fancy and pathos.
Opie wrote The dangers of Coquetry at age 18. Her novel Father and Daughter (1801) is about misled virtue and family reconciliation. Encouraged by Mary Wollstonecraft
, she wrote Adeline Mowbray (1804), an exploration of relationship between mother and daughter. Adeline Mowbray uses frank language to deliver the moral that the desires of women as much as those of men can override their families' wishes and thus jeopardise their future
Amelia Opie divided her time between London
and Norwich
. She was a friend of writers Sir Walter Scott, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
and Madame de Stael.
In 1825, through the influence of Joseph John Gurney
, she joined the Society of Friends. After a book entitled Detraction Displayed and contributions to periodicals, she wrote nothing more. The rest of her life was spent travelling and working at charity.
Even late in life, Opie maintained connections with writers, for instance receiving George Borrow
as a guest. After a visit to Cromer
, a seaside resort on the North Norfolk
coast, she caught a chill and retired to her bedroom. A year later on 2 December 1853, she died at Norwich. Ms. Opie was said to retain her vivacity to the last. She was buried at the Gildencroft Quaker Cemetery, Norwich
.
A biography of her, A Life, by Miss C.L. Brightwell, was published in 1854.
Biographies
Poetry
Miscellaneous
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
author who published numerous novels in the Romantic Period of the early 19th century, through 1828.
Life and work
Amelia Alderson was the daughter of James AndersonJames Anderson
- Arts :*James K Anderson , American actor*James Anderson , British actor*James Arthur Anderson , American writer*James Anderson , American television writer...
, a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, and Amelia Briggs of Norwich, England. She was a cousin of notable judge Edward Hall Anderson, with whom she corresponded throughout her life, and also a cousin of notable artist Henry Perronet Briggs
Henry Perronet Briggs
Henry Perronet Briggs was an English painter of portraits and historical scenes.-Life and work:Briggs was born at Walworth, County Durham, the son of a post office official. His cousin was Amelia Opie , the wife of artist John Opie...
.
Miss Alderson had inherited radical principles and was an ardent admirer of John Horne Tooke
John Horne Tooke
John Horne Tooke was an English politician and philologist.-Early life and work:He was born in Newport Street, Long Acre, Westminster, the third son of John Horne, a poulterer in Newport Market. As a youth at Eton College, Tooke described his father to friends as a "turkey merchant"...
. She was close to activists John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble
John Philip Kemble was an English actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane...
, Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons
Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character,...
, William Godwin
William Godwin
William Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism...
and Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
.
Marriage and family
In 1798 Alderson married John OpieJohn Opie
John Opie was an English historical and portrait painter. He painted many great men and women of his day, most notably in the artistic and literary professions.-Life and work:...
, the painter. The nine years of her married life before her husband's death were happy, although her husband did not share her love of society. With his encouragement, in 1801 she completed a novel entitled Father and Daughter, which showed genuine fancy and pathos.
Writing career
Amelia Opie published regularly after that. In 1802 she completed a volume of verse. Additional books followed: Adeline Mowbray (1804), Simple Tales (1806), Temper (1812), Tales of Real Life (1813), Valentine's Eve (1816), Tales of the Heart (1818), and Madeline (1822).Opie wrote The dangers of Coquetry at age 18. Her novel Father and Daughter (1801) is about misled virtue and family reconciliation. Encouraged by Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
, she wrote Adeline Mowbray (1804), an exploration of relationship between mother and daughter. Adeline Mowbray uses frank language to deliver the moral that the desires of women as much as those of men can override their families' wishes and thus jeopardise their future
Amelia Opie divided her time between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
. She was a friend of writers Sir Walter Scott, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
and Madame de Stael.
In 1825, through the influence of Joseph John Gurney
Joseph John Gurney
Joseph John Gurney was a banker in Norwich, England and an evangelical Minister of the Religious Society of Friends , whose views and actions led, ultimately, to a schism among American Quakers.-Biography:...
, she joined the Society of Friends. After a book entitled Detraction Displayed and contributions to periodicals, she wrote nothing more. The rest of her life was spent travelling and working at charity.
Even late in life, Opie maintained connections with writers, for instance receiving George Borrow
George Borrow
George Henry Borrow was an English author who wrote novels and travelogues based on his own experiences around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he developed a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe. They figure prominently in his work...
as a guest. After a visit to Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
, a seaside resort on the North Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
coast, she caught a chill and retired to her bedroom. A year later on 2 December 1853, she died at Norwich. Ms. Opie was said to retain her vivacity to the last. She was buried at the Gildencroft Quaker Cemetery, Norwich
Gildencroft Quaker Cemetery, Norwich
The Gildencroft Quaker Cemetery is an historic cemetery in Chatham Street, Norwich, Norfolk where many of the city's Quakers were buried including the writer Amelia Opie. Many members of the Gurney family - who had a major influence on the development of Norwich - are buried here...
.
A biography of her, A Life, by Miss C.L. Brightwell, was published in 1854.
Principal works
Novels and Stories- Dangers of Coquetry. (published anonymously) 1790
- The Father and Daughter. 1801
- Adeline Mowbray. 1804
- Simple Tales. 1806
- Temper 1812
- First Chapter of Accidents. 1813
- Tales of Real Life. 1813
- Valentine's Eve. 1816
- New Tales. 1818
- Tales of the Heart. 1820
- Madeline. 1822
- Illustrations of Lying. 1824
- Tales of the Pemberton Family for Children. 1825
- The Last Voyage. 1828
- Detraction Displayed. 1828
- Miscellaneous Tales. (12 Vols.) 1845-7
Biographies
- Memoir of John Opie. 1809
- Sketch of Mrs. Roberts. 1814
Poetry
- Maid of Corinth. 1801
- Elegy to the Memory of the Duke of BedfordFrancis Russell, 5th Duke of BedfordFrancis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford was an English aristocrat and Whig politician, responsible for much of the development of central Bloomsbury.-Life:...
. 1802 - Poems. 1803
- Lines to General Kosciusko. 1803
- Song to Stella. 1803
- The Warrior's Return. 1808
- The Black Man's Lament. 1826
- Lays for the Dead. 1834
Miscellaneous
- Recollections of Days in Holland. 1840
Further reading
- Howard, Susan K. "Amelia Opie", British Romantic Novelists, 1789–1832. Ed. Bradford K. Mudge. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.
- Kelly, Gary. English Fiction of the Romantic Period, 1789-1830. London: Longman, 1989.
- King, Shelley and John B. Pierce. "Introduction", The Father and Daughter with Dangers of Coquetry. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2003.
- Simmons, Jr., James R. "Amelia Opie". British Short-Fiction Writers, 1800–1880. Ed. John R. Greenfield. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996.
- Spender, Dale. Mothers of the Novel: 100 Good Women Writers Before Jane Austen. London: Pandora, 1986.
- St. Clair, William. The Godwins and Shelleys: The Biography of a Family. London: Faber and Faber, 1989.
- Staves, Susan. "British Seduced Maidens", Eighteenth-Century Studies 12 (1980–81):109–34.
- Ty, Eleanor. Empowering the Feminine: The Narratives of Mary Robinson, Jane West, and Amelia Opie, 1796–1812. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
External links
- Amelia Opie and Norwich
- OPIE, MRS. AMELIA, Dictionary of national biography, Vol. 42, 1895, pages 226-230
- Brightwell, Cecilia Lucy,Memorials of the life of Amelia Opie, London: Longman, Brown, & Co., 1854.