Elizabeth Ann Sheridan (née Linley) (7 September 1754 – 28 June 1792) was the second daughter (and second of twelve children) of the composer Thomas Linley and his wife Mary Johnson, and was herself the wife of the playwright 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...

.

Life

Of the 7 Linley children destined for musical careers, it is said that Elizabeth had the greatest talent and beauty. Trained by her father at an early age, her first performance was at Covent Garden Theatre aged 12, alongside her brother in The Fairy Favour on 31 January 1767. In May Elizabeth sang and Thomas played the violin in a concert at Bath. Despite her growing reputation and the London concert rooms readily available to her as a result, her father forced her to promise to marry Walter Long

Walter Long (of South Wraxall)

Walter Long of South Wraxall, near Bradford-on-Avon, , the great-great-great grandson of Sir Walter Long of South Wraxall and Draycot was born in Wiltshire, and had inherited along with other family estates, the 15th Century South Wraxall Manor...

, after much protest, to prevent her taking a theatrical career and to bring wealth into the Linley family. On 26 June 1771, a new comedy, called The Maid of Bath, opened at the Haymarket Theatre

Haymarket Theatre

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...

, dramatising her story.

Elizabeth had many proposals of marriage, but on 18 March 1772 she eloped with Richard Brinsley Sheridan to France. However, they were both underage and so the marriage was invalid until Elizabeth’s father eventually consented officially on 13 April 1772 at Marylebone

St Marylebone Parish Church

-First church:The first church for the parish was built in the vicinity of the present Marble Arch c.1200, and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.-Second church:...

, London, one day after her last public appearance. In 1772 Sheridan fought a famous duel against Captain Thomas Mathews in defence of Elizabeth's character, which Mathews had defamed in a newspaper article. She suffered many miscarriages due to poor health, but she finally delivered a son, Tom (1775–1819). She died of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 at Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 in 1792 aged 38.

Sources

• Chedzoy, Alan. Sheridan's Nightingale: The Story of Elizabeth Linley. London: Allison & Busby, 1997.
• Highfill, Phillip H., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans. A Biographical Dictionary of Actors...and Other Stage Personnel in London 1660-1800. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982.
• Short biography
• 'The Maid of Bath' - a print of Elizabeth Linley from the Holbourne Museum of Art