Ann Hatton
Encyclopedia
Ann Julia Hatton (29 April 1764 Worcester, UK – 26 December 1838, Swansea
), was a popular novelist in Britain in the early 19th century.
. She was the sister of the actors, Mrs Sarah Siddons
and John Philip Kemble
. Other members of the Kemble family
were also actors. Ann was apprenticed to a mantua
maker before going on the stage.
In 1783, at the age of nineteen, she married the actor, C. Curtis - but soon found out that he was already married. Ann was left in such straits financially that in that year she appealed for relief from the public in a newspaper advertisement, and even attempted suicide in Westminster Abbey
. To survive she earned her living as a "model" in a notorious London bagnio
, or brothel
. It was in such a house that she was accidentally shot in the face. This was reported in local newspapers, which mention her "immoral avocation
", but also her "proud and strong mind."
In 1792 Ann married William Hatton, and a year later the couple sailed to America. In 1794 Ann Hatton's tremendously popular "Tammany: The Indian Chief" premiered on Broadway
. This was the first known libretto
by a woman, and the first major opera libretto written in the United States on an American theme.
By 1799 Ann and William had returned to Britain, and settled at Swansea
in south Wales; where they ran a bathing-house and lodgings near the seashore until William's death in 1806. From 1806 to 1809 Ann kept a dancing school in Kidwelly
, but from 1809 onwards spent the remainder of her life in Swansea and became a well-known writer. Between 1810 and 1831 she wrote poetry, and fourteen novels featuring gothic themes for Minerva Press
, using the pseudonym of "Ann of Swansea".
Ann's mixing precariously with various classes and suffering times of poverty gave her the insight of living through, as well as seeing, the social ills of her times. Her work responded to the popular taste of the time for gothic fiction
, social satire and stories of moral progress, with stereotypical women as her characters: nuns are gothic, wives harangue, mothers are fussy and old maids bad-tempered.
A portrait of Ann in 1835 (at the age of 71) by William Watkeys is held in Swansea Museum
.
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
), was a popular novelist in Britain in the early 19th century.
Biography
Ann Hatton was born in Worcester, the daughter of strolling-player Roger KembleRoger Kemble
Roger Kemble was an English theatre manager, strolling player and actor. In 1753, he married actress Sarah "Sally" Ward at Cirencester, Gloucester, and they had twelve children, who formed the great Kemble family of 19th-century actors and actresses.Roger Kemble was born in Hereford...
. She was the sister of the actors, Mrs 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 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...
. Other members of the Kemble family
Kemble family
Kemble is the name of a family of English actors, all distinguished actors and actresses who reigned over the British stage for decades. The most famous were Sarah Siddons and her brother John Philip Kemble , the two eldest of the twelve children of Roger Kemble , a strolling player and manager of...
were also actors. Ann was apprenticed to a mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
maker before going on the stage.
In 1783, at the age of nineteen, she married the actor, C. Curtis - but soon found out that he was already married. Ann was left in such straits financially that in that year she appealed for relief from the public in a newspaper advertisement, and even attempted suicide in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. To survive she earned her living as a "model" in a notorious London bagnio
Bagnio
A Bagnio was originally a bath or bath-house.The term was then used to name the prison for hostages in Istanbul, which was near the bath-house, and thereafter all the slave prisons in the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary regencies...
, or brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. It was in such a house that she was accidentally shot in the face. This was reported in local newspapers, which mention her "immoral avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
", but also her "proud and strong mind."
In 1792 Ann married William Hatton, and a year later the couple sailed to America. In 1794 Ann Hatton's tremendously popular "Tammany: The Indian Chief" premiered on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. This was the first known libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by a woman, and the first major opera libretto written in the United States on an American theme.
By 1799 Ann and William had returned to Britain, and settled at Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in south Wales; where they ran a bathing-house and lodgings near the seashore until William's death in 1806. From 1806 to 1809 Ann kept a dancing school in Kidwelly
Kidwelly
Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...
, but from 1809 onwards spent the remainder of her life in Swansea and became a well-known writer. Between 1810 and 1831 she wrote poetry, and fourteen novels featuring gothic themes for Minerva Press
Minerva Press
Minerva Press was a publishing house, noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th century and early 19th century...
, using the pseudonym of "Ann of Swansea".
Ann's mixing precariously with various classes and suffering times of poverty gave her the insight of living through, as well as seeing, the social ills of her times. Her work responded to the popular taste of the time for gothic fiction
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
, social satire and stories of moral progress, with stereotypical women as her characters: nuns are gothic, wives harangue, mothers are fussy and old maids bad-tempered.
A portrait of Ann in 1835 (at the age of 71) by William Watkeys is held in Swansea Museum
Swansea Museum
The Swansea Museum in Swansea, Wales, UK is the oldest museum in Wales. The building was built for the Royal Institution of South Wales in 1841 in the neo-classical style.-Main museum:...
.
Works
- Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects (1783) (under name Ann Curtis)
- Cambrian Pictures (1810) (first novel, under the name Ann of Swansea)
- Poetic Trifles (1811)
- Sicilian Mysteries (1812)
- "Conviction, or Is She Innocent" (1814)
- "Secret Avengers" (1815)
- Chronicles of an Illustrious House, or The Peer, the Lawyer and the Hunchback (1816)
- "Gonzalo de Baldivia" (1817)
- "Secrets in Every Mansion" (1818)
- "Cesario Rosalba, or The Oath of Vengeance" (1819)
- Lovers and Friends; or, Modern Attachments (1821) http://www.chawton.org/novel.php?NovelID=26
- "Guilty or Not Guilty, or A Lesson for Husbands" ((1822)
- "Woman's A Riddle" (1824)
- "Deeds of an Olden Time" (1826)
- "Uncle Peregrine's Heiress" (1828)
- "Gerald Fitzgerald, or An Irish Tale" (1831).
External links
- Moira Dearnley, ‘Hatton , Ann Julia (1764–1838)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 14 Nov 2006
- Literary Heritage - West Midlands