Mary Brunton
Encyclopedia
Mary Brunton (1 November 1778 – 7 December 1818) was a Scottish
novelist.
officer and Frances Ligonier, daughter of Colonel Francis Ligonier and sister of the second earl of Ligonier. She was born on 1 November 1778 on Burray
in the Orkney Islands
. Mary's early education was limited, though her mother did teach her music, Italian, and French.
Around 1798, Mary met and fell in love with the Reverend Alexander Brunton, a Church of Scotland
minister, who later became a Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Edinburgh
. Although Mary's mother disapproved of the match, she eloped with Brunton on 4 December 1798, when her loved one rescued her from the island of Gairsay
in a rowing boat. He was minister at Bolton
, near Haddington until 1797, then at two successive Edinburgh parishes: at New Greyfriars
from 1803 and Tron from 1809, becoming in the meantime professor of oriental languages at the university
in 1813.
Their marriage was a happy, but childless one. Guided by her husband, she developed some interest in philosophy, and remarked in a letter to her sister-in-law that she was in favour of women learning ancient languages and mathematics, which was still a rare female accomplishment in that period. The couple made a tour to Harrogate
and the English Lake District
in 1809, although the former did not meet with her approval: "A scene without a hill seems to me to be about as interesting as a face without a nose!" Mary finally became pregnant, at the age of almost forty, and died on 7 December 1818 in Edinburgh
after giving birth to a stillborn son.
and mother of the writer Julia Maitland
. Writing to Sarah on 17 May 1811, she commented, "I read Self-Countroul & like it extremely all except some vulgarity meant to be jocular which tired me to death, but I think the principal character charming & well supported & the book really gives good lessons.". Jane Austen had reservations, describing it in a letter as an "excellently-meant, elegantly-written work, without anything of Nature or Probability in it." In contrasting self-control with sensibility, she was moving towards a redefinition of femininity. Self-Control was widely read and went into its third edition in 1812. A French translation (Laure Montreville, ou l’Empire sur soimême) appeared in Paris in 1829. The anonymous novels Things by their Right Names (1812) and Rhoda by Frances Jacson
were initially ascribed to her as well.
The other novel that Mary Brunton completed was Discipline (1814). Like Walter Scott
's Waverley
, published in the same year, it had Highland scenes that were much appreciated. It went into three editions in two years. The Bruntons spent some time in London
in 1815 and Mary began to learn Gaelic
in the same year. She then planned a series of domestic stories, of which one, Emmeline, was far enough advanced when she died for her husband to include it in a 1819 memorial volume, along with a Memoir and extracts from her travel diary. The story described with a sympathy unusual in that period how a divorced woman's marriage is destroyed by her feelings of guilt and the ostracism she suffers.
The success of Brunton's novels seems to have lain in combining a strongly moral, religious stance with events that stretched or broke the rules of society. Although the presence of "pulsating sexuality" may be an exaggeration, it is certainly true that her heroines "experience destitution struggling to survive as women on their own and enter the dark night of the soul, but rise from the depths of despair through a growing religious strength." According to Fay Weldon
, "Improving the Brunton novels may be, but what fun they are to read, rich in invention, ripe with incident, shrewd in comment, and erotic in intention and fact."
The Works of Mary Brunton appeared in 1820 and further editions of her first two novels in 1832, 1837 and 1852. However, the popularity of her novels was immediate but somewhat short-lived: "They rose very fast into celebrity, and their popularity seems to have as quickly sunk away," as her husband put it in retrospect. Modern editions have appeared of Self-Control (London: Pandora, 1986), Discipline (London: Pandora, 1986; Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman, 1987) and Emmeline (London: Routledge, 1992, facsimile of 1819 edition).
Alexander Brunton had a volume of Sermons and Lectures published in 1818, Outlines of Persian Grammar in 1822, and Forms of Public Worship in the Church of Scotland in 1848. He was appointed moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
in May 1823, and served also as convenor (chair) of the Indian Mission Committee in 1834-47. He died at Coupar Angus
, Perthshire
on 9 February 1854.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
novelist.
Life
Mary was the daughter of Colonel Thomas Balfour of Elwick, a British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer and Frances Ligonier, daughter of Colonel Francis Ligonier and sister of the second earl of Ligonier. She was born on 1 November 1778 on Burray
Burray
Burray is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is one of a chain of islands linked by the Churchill Barriers.-Geography and geology:...
in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
. Mary's early education was limited, though her mother did teach her music, Italian, and French.
Around 1798, Mary met and fell in love with the Reverend Alexander Brunton, a Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
minister, who later became a Professor of Oriental Languages in the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. Although Mary's mother disapproved of the match, she eloped with Brunton on 4 December 1798, when her loved one rescued her from the island of Gairsay
Gairsay
Gairsay is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, located in the parish of Rendall, off the coast, astride one of the approaches to the bays of Firth and Kirkwall...
in a rowing boat. He was minister at Bolton
Bolton, East Lothian
Bolton is a hamlet and the third smallest parish in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies approximately south of Haddington and east of Edinburgh, and is an entirely agricultural parish, long by about wide...
, near Haddington until 1797, then at two successive Edinburgh parishes: at New Greyfriars
Greyfriars Kirk
Greyfriars Kirk, today Greyfriars Tolbooth & Highland Kirk, is a parish kirk of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh, Scotland...
from 1803 and Tron from 1809, becoming in the meantime professor of oriental languages at the university
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1813.
Their marriage was a happy, but childless one. Guided by her husband, she developed some interest in philosophy, and remarked in a letter to her sister-in-law that she was in favour of women learning ancient languages and mathematics, which was still a rare female accomplishment in that period. The couple made a tour to Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
and the English Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
in 1809, although the former did not meet with her approval: "A scene without a hill seems to me to be about as interesting as a face without a nose!" Mary finally became pregnant, at the age of almost forty, and died on 7 December 1818 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
after giving birth to a stillborn son.
Writings
Mary Brunton started to write her first novel, Self-Control in 1809 and it was published in 1811. One admirer was Charlotte Barrett (1786–1870), niece of the novelists Fanny Burney and Sarah BurneySarah Burney
Sarah Harriet Burney was an English novelist, the daughter of musicologist and composer Charles Burney, and half-sister of the novelist and diarist Frances Burney .- Life :Sarah Burney's mother, Elizabeth Allen, was the second wife of...
and mother of the writer Julia Maitland
Julia Maitland
Julia Charlotte Maitland , was a writer and traveller, and the great-niece of the novelists Fanny Burney and Sarah Burney.-Family:...
. Writing to Sarah on 17 May 1811, she commented, "I read Self-Countroul & like it extremely all except some vulgarity meant to be jocular which tired me to death, but I think the principal character charming & well supported & the book really gives good lessons.". Jane Austen had reservations, describing it in a letter as an "excellently-meant, elegantly-written work, without anything of Nature or Probability in it." In contrasting self-control with sensibility, she was moving towards a redefinition of femininity. Self-Control was widely read and went into its third edition in 1812. A French translation (Laure Montreville, ou l’Empire sur soimême) appeared in Paris in 1829. The anonymous novels Things by their Right Names (1812) and Rhoda by Frances Jacson
Frances Jacson
Frances Margaretta Jacson was an English novelist.-Family commitments:...
were initially ascribed to her as well.
The other novel that Mary Brunton completed was Discipline (1814). Like Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's Waverley
Waverley (novel)
Waverley is an 1814 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Initially published anonymously in 1814 as Scott's first venture into prose fiction, Waverley is often regarded as the first historical novel. It became so popular that Scott's later novels were advertised as being "by the author of...
, published in the same year, it had Highland scenes that were much appreciated. It went into three editions in two years. The Bruntons spent some time 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...
in 1815 and Mary began to learn Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
in the same year. She then planned a series of domestic stories, of which one, Emmeline, was far enough advanced when she died for her husband to include it in a 1819 memorial volume, along with a Memoir and extracts from her travel diary. The story described with a sympathy unusual in that period how a divorced woman's marriage is destroyed by her feelings of guilt and the ostracism she suffers.
The success of Brunton's novels seems to have lain in combining a strongly moral, religious stance with events that stretched or broke the rules of society. Although the presence of "pulsating sexuality" may be an exaggeration, it is certainly true that her heroines "experience destitution struggling to survive as women on their own and enter the dark night of the soul, but rise from the depths of despair through a growing religious strength." According to Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
, "Improving the Brunton novels may be, but what fun they are to read, rich in invention, ripe with incident, shrewd in comment, and erotic in intention and fact."
The Works of Mary Brunton appeared in 1820 and further editions of her first two novels in 1832, 1837 and 1852. However, the popularity of her novels was immediate but somewhat short-lived: "They rose very fast into celebrity, and their popularity seems to have as quickly sunk away," as her husband put it in retrospect. Modern editions have appeared of Self-Control (London: Pandora, 1986), Discipline (London: Pandora, 1986; Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman, 1987) and Emmeline (London: Routledge, 1992, facsimile of 1819 edition).
Alexander Brunton had a volume of Sermons and Lectures published in 1818, Outlines of Persian Grammar in 1822, and Forms of Public Worship in the Church of Scotland in 1848. He was appointed moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
in May 1823, and served also as convenor (chair) of the Indian Mission Committee in 1834-47. He died at Coupar Angus
Coupar Angus
Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated eight kilometres south of Blairgowrie.The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife...
, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
on 9 February 1854.
External links
- Text source for Brunton writings
- Biographical link
- Ruth Facer, author biography on Chawton Library site. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- Mary Balfour at University of Toronto LibrariesUniversity of Toronto LibrariesThe University of Toronto Libraries is the library system of the University of Toronto, comprising about 30 individual libraries that hold more than 10 million bound volumes and 5 million microform volumes...