Elizabeth Inchbald
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Inchbald (1753–1821) was an English
novelist, actress, and dramatist.
, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
, Elizabeth was the eighth of the nine children of John Simpson (died 1761), a farmer, and his wife Mary, née Rushbrook. The family, like several others in the neighbourhood was Roman Catholic. Elizabeth was educated with her sisters at home.
At the age of 19 she went to London
in order to act. (Her brother George had become an actor in 1770.) Young and alone, she was apparently the victim of sexual harassment. In 1772 she agreed to marry a fellow Catholic, the actor Joseph Inchbald (1735–1779), possibly at least partially for protection. The marriage was reported to have had difficulties. For four years the couple toured Scotland with West Digges's theatre company, a demanding life. In 1776 they moved to Liverpool and Inchbald met actors Sarah Siddons
and her brother John Philip Kemble
, both of whom became important friends. The Inchbalds subsequently moved to Canterbury and Yorkshire. After Joseph Inchbald's death in 1779, Inchbald continued to act for several years, in Dublin, London, and elsewhere. Her acting career, while only moderately successful, spanned seventeen years and she appeared in many classical roles, as well as in new plays such as Hannah Cowley's
The Belle's Stratagem
.
Between 1784 and 1805 she had nineteen of her comedies, sentimental dramas, and farces (many of which were translations from the French) performed at London theatres. Eighteen of her plays were published, though she wrote several more; the exact number is in dispute though most recent commentators claim between 21 and 23. Her two novels have been frequently reprinted. She also did considerable editorial and critical work. A four-volume autobiography was destroyed before her death upon the advice of her confessor, but she left some of her diaries. The latter are currently held at the Folger Shakespeare Library and an edition was recently published.
Her play Lovers' Vows
(1798) was featured by Jane Austen
in her novel Mansfield Park
.
A political radical and friend of William Godwin
and Thomas Holcroft
, her political beliefs can more easily be found in her novels than in her plays due to the constrictive environment of the patent theatres of Georgian London. "Inchbald's life was marked by tensions between, on the one hand, political radicalism, a passionate nature evidently attracted to a number of her admirers, and a love of independence, and on the other hand, a desire for social respectability and a strong sense of the emotional attraction of authority figures". She died on 1 August 1821 in Kensington
. She quarrelled publicly with Mary Wollstonecraft
in 1797, when Wollstonecraft's marriage to William Godwin
made it clear that she had not been married to Gilbert Imlay
, the father of her elder daughter Fanny
. This was deeply resented by Godwin.
In recent decades Inchbald has been the subject of increasing critical interest, particularly among scholars interested in women's writing.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novelist, actress, and dramatist.
Life
Born on 15 October 1753 at StandingfieldStanningfield
Stanningfield is a village in the parish of Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield, in the St Edmundsbury District, in the English county of Suffolk. The village also consists of the area Hoggard's Green...
, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, Elizabeth was the eighth of the nine children of John Simpson (died 1761), a farmer, and his wife Mary, née Rushbrook. The family, like several others in the neighbourhood was Roman Catholic. Elizabeth was educated with her sisters at home.
At the age of 19 she went to 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...
in order to act. (Her brother George had become an actor in 1770.) Young and alone, she was apparently the victim of sexual harassment. In 1772 she agreed to marry a fellow Catholic, the actor Joseph Inchbald (1735–1779), possibly at least partially for protection. The marriage was reported to have had difficulties. For four years the couple toured Scotland with West Digges's theatre company, a demanding life. In 1776 they moved to Liverpool and Inchbald met actors 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,...
and her brother 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...
, both of whom became important friends. The Inchbalds subsequently moved to Canterbury and Yorkshire. After Joseph Inchbald's death in 1779, Inchbald continued to act for several years, in Dublin, London, and elsewhere. Her acting career, while only moderately successful, spanned seventeen years and she appeared in many classical roles, as well as in new plays such as Hannah Cowley's
Hannah Cowley
Hannah Cowley was an English dramatist and poet. Although Cowley’s plays and poetry did not enjoy wide popularity after the nineteenth century, critic Melinda Finberg rates Cowley as “one of the foremost playwrights of the late eighteenth century” whose “skill in writing fluid, sparkling dialogue...
The Belle's Stratagem
The Belle's Stratagem
The Belle's Stratagem is a romantic comedy of manners that premiered on February 22, 1780; it was the most successful work by Hannah Cowley. It drew its title from George Farquhar's play The Beaux' Stratagem. The show was presented by David Garrick, filling the 2,000-seat Drury Lane theatre. to...
.
Between 1784 and 1805 she had nineteen of her comedies, sentimental dramas, and farces (many of which were translations from the French) performed at London theatres. Eighteen of her plays were published, though she wrote several more; the exact number is in dispute though most recent commentators claim between 21 and 23. Her two novels have been frequently reprinted. She also did considerable editorial and critical work. A four-volume autobiography was destroyed before her death upon the advice of her confessor, but she left some of her diaries. The latter are currently held at the Folger Shakespeare Library and an edition was recently published.
Her play Lovers' Vows
Lovers' Vows
Lovers' Vows , a play by Elizabeth Inchbald arguably best known now for having been featured in Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park , is one of at least four adaptations of August von Kotzebue's Das Kind der Liebe , all of which were published between 1798 and 1800...
(1798) was featured by Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
in her novel Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park (novel)
Mansfield Park is a novel by Jane Austen, written at Chawton Cottage between 1812 and 1814. It was published in July 1814 by Thomas Egerton, who published Jane Austen's two earlier novels, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice...
.
A political radical and friend of 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 Thomas Holcroft
Thomas Holcroft
Thomas Holcroft was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer.-Early life:He was born in Orange Court, Leicester Fields, London. His father had a shoemaker's shop, and kept riding horses for hire; but having fallen into difficulties was reduced to the status of hawking peddler...
, her political beliefs can more easily be found in her novels than in her plays due to the constrictive environment of the patent theatres of Georgian London. "Inchbald's life was marked by tensions between, on the one hand, political radicalism, a passionate nature evidently attracted to a number of her admirers, and a love of independence, and on the other hand, a desire for social respectability and a strong sense of the emotional attraction of authority figures". She died on 1 August 1821 in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. She quarrelled publicly with 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...
in 1797, when Wollstonecraft's marriage to 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...
made it clear that she had not been married to Gilbert Imlay
Gilbert Imlay
Gilbert Imlay was an American businessman, author, and diplomat. Imlay was known in his day as a shrewd but unscrupulous businessman involved in land speculation in Kentucky. He later served in the U.S...
, the father of her elder daughter Fanny
Fanny Imlay
Frances "Fanny" Imlay , also known as Fanny Godwin, was the illegitimate daughter of the British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and the American commercial speculator Gilbert Imlay.Although Mary Wollstonecraft and Gilbert Imlay lived together happily for brief periods before and after the birth...
. This was deeply resented by Godwin.
In recent decades Inchbald has been the subject of increasing critical interest, particularly among scholars interested in women's writing.
Plays
|
Lovers' Vows Lovers' Vows , a play by Elizabeth Inchbald arguably best known now for having been featured in Jane Austen's novel Mansfield Park , is one of at least four adaptations of August von Kotzebue's Das Kind der Liebe , all of which were published between 1798 and 1800... (1798) Le Méchant Le Méchant is a 1747 play by Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset. It is considered the best verse comedy of the eighteenth-century French stage.... ; unpublished) |
Critical/editorial work
- The British Theatre. 25 vols. (1806–9)
- Collection of Farces and Afterpieces. 7 vols. (1809)
- The Modern Theatre. 10 vols. (1811)
Etexts
- Lovers' Vows. Eds Thomas C. Crochunis and Michael Eberle-Sinatra, with an introduction by Jonathan Wordsworth [15 January 2000].
- Lovers' Vows at Project Gutenberg
- The Massacre. Eds. Thomas C. Crochunis and Michael Eberle-Sinatra, with an Introduction by Danny O'Quinn. British Women Playwrights Around 1800. 15 April 1999.
- Nature and Art at Project Gutenberg
- Such Things Are. Eds. Gioia Angeletti and Thomas C. Crochunis, with an introduction by Gioia Angeletti. British Women Playwrights Around 1800. 15 May 2003.
- The Wedding Day. Eds. Thomas C. Crochunis and Susan Hyon. British Women Playwrights Around 1800. 15 June 2003.
- Wives as They Were and Maids as They Are. Gioia Angeletti and Thomas C. Crochunis. British Women Playwrights Around 1800. 15 May 2003.
Adaptations
- 'The Massacre' (part of the 'Restoring The Repertoire' series from the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, UK)
- 'Wives as they Were, and Maids as they Are' (part of the 'Restoring The Repertoire' series from the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, UK)
Sites
- British Women Playwrights Around 1800
- Contents of The British Theatre
- Corvey Women Writers on the Web Author's Page
- Elizabeth Inchbald, Beatrice S. Scott's site
- Elizabeth Inchbald. XII. The Georgian Drama. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes. Volume XI. The Period of the French Revolution (1907–21).
Images
- Portraits of Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821), Actress and writer, National Portrait Gallery
- I’ll Tell You What!: satiric print of Elizabeth Inchbald