Elinor James
Encyclopedia
Elinor James was a British
printer
and controversialist who used her own printing press to address public concerns throughout her adult life. At seventeen, she married Thomas James, a printer in London
, on 27 October 1662. She had four children, two of whom survived to adulthood.
s and pamphlets under her own prominently displayed name. These were nearly always given titles that included her name, such as Mrs. James's Advice. They addressed kings, the Lords and Commons, lord mayors of London, the City of London
's board of aldermen, and the clergy of the time. She was particularly vociferous about the Exclusion Crisis and the Glorious Revolution
. She was also strongly anti-Puritan
.
In 1687, her Mrs. James's Vindication of the Church of England drew two responses. Both the satirical An Address of Thanks, on Behalf of the Church of England, to Mrs. James and the dismissive verse Elizabeth Rone's Short Answer to Elinor James's Long Preamble took her simplicity and prolixity to task. John Dryden
also dismissed her in the preface to The Hind and the Panther
. At the same time she was also protesting loudly against individual Puritan preachers, sometimes attending services personally and disrupting their sermons. She responded to Dryden and the others with Mrs. James's Defence of the Church of England, in a Short Answer to the Canting Address.
, taking a Jacobite
stance. She was arrested, tried and fined in 1689, after she had written, printed, and distributed a broadsheet accusing William III of ruling illegitimately, but she did not relent. In 1702, one satirist referred to her as the "London City Godmother" (McDowell 693).
She wrote against Titus Oates
, who figured in the Popish Plot
, accusing him of being no minister and fraudulently wearing clerical dress. He responded by beating her with his cane, for which he was found guilty of assault and fined.
In 1710, as executor of her husband's will, she donated 3000 books of his to Sion College
, along with portraits of Charles I
and II
. She died in 1719 and was buried in London.
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...
printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
and controversialist who used her own printing press to address public concerns throughout her adult life. At seventeen, she married Thomas James, a printer in 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...
, on 27 October 1662. She had four children, two of whom survived to adulthood.
Broadsheets
From the time of Thomas becoming a master printer until her death, she wrote, printed, and distributed over ninety broadsheetBroadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
s and pamphlets under her own prominently displayed name. These were nearly always given titles that included her name, such as Mrs. James's Advice. They addressed kings, the Lords and Commons, lord mayors of London, the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
's board of aldermen, and the clergy of the time. She was particularly vociferous about the Exclusion Crisis and the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
. She was also strongly anti-Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
.
In 1687, her Mrs. James's Vindication of the Church of England drew two responses. Both the satirical An Address of Thanks, on Behalf of the Church of England, to Mrs. James and the dismissive verse Elizabeth Rone's Short Answer to Elinor James's Long Preamble took her simplicity and prolixity to task. John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
also dismissed her in the preface to The Hind and the Panther
The Hind and the Panther
The Hind and the Panther: A Poem, in Three Parts is an allegory in heroic couplets by John Dryden. At some 2600 lines it is much the longest of Dryden's poems, translations excepted, and perhaps the most controversial...
. At the same time she was also protesting loudly against individual Puritan preachers, sometimes attending services personally and disrupting their sermons. She responded to Dryden and the others with Mrs. James's Defence of the Church of England, in a Short Answer to the Canting Address.
A Jacobite
Elinor James opposed William IIIWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, taking a Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
stance. She was arrested, tried and fined in 1689, after she had written, printed, and distributed a broadsheet accusing William III of ruling illegitimately, but she did not relent. In 1702, one satirist referred to her as the "London City Godmother" (McDowell 693).
She wrote against Titus Oates
Titus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
, who figured in the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
, accusing him of being no minister and fraudulently wearing clerical dress. He responded by beating her with his cane, for which he was found guilty of assault and fined.
In 1710, as executor of her husband's will, she donated 3000 books of his to Sion College
Sion College
Sion College, in London, is an institution founded by Royal Charter in 1630 as a college, guild of parochial clergy and almshouse, under the 1623 will of Thomas White, vicar of St Dunstan's in the West....
, along with portraits of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. She died in 1719 and was buried in London.