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List of early-modern women playwrights (UK)
Encyclopedia
This is a chronological list of women playwrights who were active in the United Kingdom
before approximately 1800, with a brief indication of productivity. (NB. Drama is the focus of this list, though many of these writers worked in more than one genre.)
:Category:Women dramatists and playwrights
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
before approximately 1800, with a brief indication of productivity. (NB. Drama is the focus of this list, though many of these writers worked in more than one genre.)
Playwrights
- Jane LumleyJane LumleyJane , Lady Lumley was the first person to translate Euripides into English. She was the eldest child of Henry Fitzalan, 19th Earl of Arundel , patron of the arts, and his first wife, Katherine Grey Fitzalan...
(1537–1578): first translator of Euripides into English - Mary Sidney HerbertMary SidneyMary Herbert , Countess of Pembroke , was one of the first English women to achieve a major reputation for her literary works, poetry, poetic translations and literary patronage.-Family:...
(1561–1621): translated one play - Elizabeth CaryElizabeth Tanfield CaryElizabeth Cary, Lady Falkland , née Tanfield, was an English poet, translator, and dramatist. Precocious and studious, she was known from a young age for her learning and knowledge of languages.-Life:...
(1585–1639): wrote the first original play in English by a woman - Mary WrothLady Mary WrothLady Mary Wroth was an English poet of the Renaissance. A member of a distinguished literary English family, Wroth was among the first female British writers to have achieved an enduring reputation...
(1587–1652): primarily a poet; one drama extant - Jane Cavendish (1620/21–1669): co-authored a pastoral masque with her sister, Elizabeth EgertonElizabeth EgertonElizabeth Egerton , countess of Bridgewater , was an English writer. She was encouraged in her literary interests from a young age by her father, William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, himself an author and patron of the arts surrounded by a literary coterie which included Ben Jonson, Thomas...
- Margaret CavendishMargaret CavendishMargaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne was an English aristocrat, a prolific writer, and a scientist. Born Margaret Lucas, she was the youngest sister of prominent royalists Sir John Lucas and Sir Charles Lucas...
(1623–1673): author of closet dramas - Elizabeth EgertonElizabeth EgertonElizabeth Egerton , countess of Bridgewater , was an English writer. She was encouraged in her literary interests from a young age by her father, William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, himself an author and patron of the arts surrounded by a literary coterie which included Ben Jonson, Thomas...
(1626–1663): co-authored a pastoral masque with her sister, Jane Cavendish - Katherine PhilipsKatherine PhilipsKatherine Philips was an Anglo-Welsh poet.-Biography:Katherine Philips was the first Englishwoman to enjoy widespread public acclaim as a poet during her lifetime. Born in London, she was daughter of John Fowler, a Presbyterian, and a merchant of Bucklersbury, London. Philips is said to have read...
(1631–1664): mainly a poet; author of two plays (one unfinished) - Aphra BehnAphra BehnAphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
(1640–1689): highly successful playwright - Elizabeth PolwheeleElizabeth PolwheeleElizabeth Polewhele , playwright, was one of the first women to write for the professional stage in London. Her comedy The Frolicks was performed at the Dorset Garden Theatre in 1671; it features Claribell, a witty Restoration heroine, and Rightwit, a rake.-Plays:*Elysium *The Faithful Virgins...
(ca. 1651-ca. 1691): two plays extant - Anne Finch (1661–1720): primarily a poet; author of verse dramas
- Frances BoothbyFrances BoothbyFrances Boothby , playwright, was the first woman to have a play produced in London: her tragicomedy, Marcelia, or, The Treacherous Friend, was performed by the King's Company at the Theatre Royal in 1669 . The plot involves romantic difficulties and deceit. It is her only work extant, and little...
(fl.FloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1669–1670): author of the first original play by a woman to be produced in London - Delarivier ManleyDelarivier ManleyDelarivier Manley was an English novelist of amatory fiction, playwright, and political pamphleteer...
(1663 or ca. 1670-1724): successful playwright - Mary PixMary PixMary Pix was an English novelist and playwright. Church records indicate that she lived in London, marrying George Pix, a merchant tailor from Hawkhurst, Kent in 1684. Baptismal records reveal that she had two sons, George and William...
(1666–1709): successful playwright - Susannah Centlivre (ca. 1667-1723): highly successful playwright
- Mary DavysMary Davys-Life account:Born in Ireland, she married Peter Davys, master of the free school of St Patrick's, Dublin, and had two daughters both of whom seem to have died in infancy...
(1674–1732): novelist; produced one play; had another published - Penelope AubinPenelope AubinPenelope Aubin was an English novelist and translator.-Works:* The Stuarts : A Pindarique Ode * The Extasy: A Pindarick Ode to Her Majesty The Queen...
(ca. 1679–ca. 1731): primarily a novelist; had one play produced - Catherine Trotter (1679–1749): successful playwright
- Jane WisemanJane WisemanJane Holt [née Wiseman] was an actress, poet, and playwright. She seems to have been from a modest labouring-class background and self-taught, but very little is known about her. Her one known play, Antiochus the Great, or, The Fatal Relapse, was successfully produced at the New Theatre, Lincoln's...
(fl. ca. 1682–1717): author of one successfully produced play - Mary Wortley MontaguLady Mary Wortley MontaguThe Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
(ca. 1689-1762): wrote primarily in other genres - Eliza HaywoodEliza HaywoodEliza Haywood , born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. Since the 1980s, Eliza Haywood’s literary works have been gaining in recognition and interest...
(1693–1756): successful as a playwright; wrote primarily in other genres - Catherine CliveKitty CliveCatherine "Kitty" Clive was a British actress of considerable repute on the stages of London.Most likely born in London, her father William Raftor was an Irishman and former officer in the French army under Louis XIV...
(1711–1785): highly successful actress; wrote farces with some success - Charlotte CharkeCharlotte CharkeCharlotte Charke was an English actress, playwright, novelist, autobiographer, and noted transvestite. She acted on the stage from the age of 17, mainly in breeches roles, and took to wearing male clothing off the stage...
(1713–1760): playwright/actress/manager - Charlotte LennoxCharlotte LennoxCharlotte Lennox was an English author and poet. She is most famous now as the author of The Female Quixote and for her association with Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, and Samuel Richardson, but she had a long career and wrote poetry, prose, and drama.-Life:Charlotte Lennox was born in Gibraltar...
(1720–1804): wrote primarily in other genres; two plays (one an adaptation) - Frances BrookeFrances BrookeFrances Moore Brooke was an English novelist, essayist, playwright and translator.-Biography:Brooke was born in, Claypole, Lincolnshire, the daughter of a clergyman. By the late 1740s, she had moved to London, where she embarked on her career as a poet and playwright...
(1723–1789): primarily a novelist; successful with comic opera - Frances SheridanFrances SheridanFrances Sheridan was an Anglo-Irish novelist and playwright.Frances Sheridan was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Dr. Phillip Chamberlaine, was an Anglican minister. In 1747 she married Thomas Sheridan, who was then an actor and theatre director, and at the same time she began work on her...
(1724–1766): successful playwright - Elizabeth GriffithElizabeth GriffithElizabeth Griffith , sometimes also credited Elizabeth Griffiths, was an 18th-century Irish dramatist, fiction writer, essayist and actress, best known for her edition of Shakespeare's comedies published in 1775.- Biography :Griffith was born in Glamorgan, Glamorganshire, Wales to Dublin theatre...
(ca. 1727-1793): successful playwright - Charlotte LennoxCharlotte LennoxCharlotte Lennox was an English author and poet. She is most famous now as the author of The Female Quixote and for her association with Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, and Samuel Richardson, but she had a long career and wrote poetry, prose, and drama.-Life:Charlotte Lennox was born in Gibraltar...
(ca. 1727-1804): limited success as playwright; primarily a novelist - Dorothea CelesiaDorothea CelesiaDorothea Celesia was a poet and playwright best known for Almida, her translation of Voltaire's Tancrède ....
(bap. 1738, d. 1790): translated VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
's Tancrède - Hannah CowleyHannah CowleyHannah 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...
(1743–1809): successful playwright and poet - Hannah MoreHannah MoreHannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...
(1745–1833): successful as a playwright; published in many genres - Mary Bowes (1749–1800): published one play
- Charlotte Turner SmithCharlotte Turner SmithCharlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility....
(1749–1806): novelist and poet; one comedy attributed to her - Elizabeth CravenElizabeth CravenElizabeth Craven , Princess Berkeley , previously "Lady Craven" of Hamstead Marshall, was an author, playwright, traveller, and socialite, perhaps best known for her travelogues...
(1750–1828): limited success as a writer of light plays - Sophia LeeSophia LeeSophia Lee was an English novelist and dramatist.She was the daughter of John Lee , actor and theatrical manager, and was born in London...
(1750–1824): successful playwright. - Frances Burney (1752–1840): primarily a novelist; author of several plays, only one of which was produced in her lifetime
- Elizabeth InchbaldElizabeth InchbaldElizabeth Inchbald was an English novelist, actress, and dramatist.- Life :Born on 15 October 1753 at Standingfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Elizabeth was the eighth of the nine children of John Simpson , a farmer, and his wife Mary, née Rushbrook. The family, like several others in the...
(1753–1821): successful playwright - Ann YearsleyAnn YearsleyAnn Yearsley née Cromartie was an English poet and writer.Born in Bristol to John and Anne Cromartie , Ann married John Yearsley, a yeoman, in 1774. A decade later the family were rescued from destitution by the charity of Hannah More and others. More organized subscriptions for Yearsley to...
(ca. 1753-1806): primarily a poet; produced and published one play - Hannah BrandHannah BrandHannah Brand , actress and playwright, was born in Norwich where she ran a "young Ladies Boarding School, No. 18, St. Giles's Broad-street" with her sister, Mary, until she turned to the stage...
(1754–1821): productions largely unsuccessful; published her plays - Harriet LeeHarriet LeeHarriet Lee was a novelist and playwright.Born the daughter of actor John Lee, Harriet Lee grew up in an artistic family. In 1786 she published The Errors of Innocence, an epistolary novel...
(1757–1851): successful playwright - Mary RobinsonMary Robinson (poet)Mary Robinson was an English poet and novelist. During her lifetime she is known as 'the English Sappho'...
(1757–1800): wrote primarily in other genres; one play produced - Jane WestJane WestJane West [née Iliffe] , who published as "Prudentia Homespun" and "Mrs. West," was an English novelist, poet, playwright, and writer of conduct literature and educational tracts.- Life :...
(1758–1852): wrote primarily in other genres; her plays enjoyed limited success - Anne PlumptreAnne PlumptreAnne Plumptre was an English writer and translator.She was born in Norwich. She and her sister, Annabella [Bell] Plumptre , daughters of Robert Plumptre, became active in the Enfield circle, a local group of literati. Later she became involved in politics during the period of the French Revolution...
(1760–1818): wrote primarily in other genres; translated dramas - Elizabeth Kemble (1761–1836): mainly known for acting
- Mariana StarkeMariana StarkeMariana Starke was an English author. She is best known for her ground-breaking travel guide of France and Italy which served as an essential companion for British travellers to the Continent in the early nineteenth century. She also wrote plays and poetry early in her career but was discouraged...
(1761/2–1838): author of four plays, not all produced; mainly a travel writer - Joanna BaillieJoanna BaillieJoanna Baillie was a Scottish poet and dramatist. Baillie was very well known during her lifetime and, though a woman, intended her plays not for the closet but for the stage. Admired both for her literary powers and her sweetness of disposition, she hosted a brilliant literary society in her...
(1762–1851): prolific playwright - Barbarina BrandBarbarina BrandBrand , Barbarina, Lady Dacre was an English poet, playwright, and translator.Barbarina was the daughter of Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet , and Hester . In 1789 she married Valentine Henry Wilmot, an officer in the guards, though they later separated. The couple had one daughter, Arabella...
(1768–1854): author of four published plays, one produced - Frances BurneyFrances Burney (1776–1828)Frances Burney was a playwright and governess.-Family and life:Frances Burney was the niece of the novelists Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, and the granddaughter of the musicologist Charles Burney...
(1776–1828): published two tragedies, never produced - Jane PorterJane PorterJane Porter was a Scottish historical novelist and dramatist.-Life and work:Jane Porter was an avid reader. Said to rise at four in the morning in order to read and write, she read the whole of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene while still a child...
(1776–1850): two plays; limited success - Jane Scott (ca. 1779-1839): prolific author of stage pieces; theatrical manager; performer
- Mary Russell MitfordMary Russell MitfordMary Russell Mitford , was an English author and dramatist. She was born at Alresford, Hampshire. Her place in English literature is as the author of Our Village...
(1787–1855): some success as a playwright - Felicia HemansFelicia Hemans-Ancestry:Felicia Heman's paternal grandfather was George Browne of Passage, co. Cork, Ireland; her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Haydock Wagner of Lancashire and Benedict Paul Wagner , wine importer at 9 Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool. Family legend gave the Wagners a Venetian origin;...
(1793–1835): primarily a poet; wrote some verse drama - Catherine GoreCatherine GoreCatherine Grace Frances Gore was a British novelist and dramatist, daughter of a wine merchant at Retford, where she was born. She is amongst the well-known of the silver fork writers - authors of the Victorian era depicting the gentility and etiquette of high society.-Biography:Gore was born in...
(1799–1861): eleven plays produced - Catherine CroweCatherine CroweCatherine Ann Crowe, née Stevens, , was an English novelist, story writer and playwright.-Life:...
(1800–1876): primarily a writer of fiction; wrote two plays, one of which was produced - Elizabeth PolackElizabeth PolackElizabeth Polack was an English playwright of the 1830s, notable for having been described by chroniclers of the period as England's first Jewish woman melodramatist.Few historical records survive which detail Elizabeth Polack's life...
(active 1830-1838): author of five plays, three of which survive
See also
:Category:Women dramatists and playwrights
- List of playwrights
- List of playwrights by nationality and date of birth
- List of women writers
- Lists of writers
- Women's writing in EnglishWomen's writing in EnglishWomen's writing as a discrete area of literary studies is based on the notion that the experience of women, historically, has been shaped by their gender, and so women writers by definition are a group worthy of separate study...
External links
- Bibliography of Early Modern Women Writers That Are In Print
- British Women Playwrights around 1800
- The Brown University Women Writers Project
- A Celebration of Women Writers
- Early Modern Women Database provides links to Web resources useful for the study of women in early modern Europe and the Americas. Materials range from bibliographic databases to full-text resources, images, and sound recordings.
- Emory Women Writers Resource Project
- List of biographical dictionaries, with a focus on 17thc women writers
- London Theater People - 1660-1800
- Luminarium
- The Perdita Project
- The Restoration Comedy Project
- Romantic Circles
- Women Romantic-Era Writers
- The Women Writers Archive: Early Modern Women Writers Online