Charlotte Lennox

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Charlotte Lennox (1730–1804), etching by Francesco Bartolozzi after Joshua Reynolds , 1797

Charlotte Lennox (* 1730 in Gibraltar , † January 4, 1804 in London ) was an English writer , poet and translator .

Charlotte Lennox is best known as the author of the novel The Female Quixote and through her friendships with Samuel Johnson , Joshua Reynolds and Samuel Richardson . In addition, she could look back on a long writing career, in which she wrote poetry, prose and plays. Lennox is one of the first British professional writers, her contemporary reputation was certainly with Henry Fieldingto compare, especially since it did not have to show its limitation in the genre. She gained her reputation primarily through her novels, which mainly deal with “aspects of female self-image and the social role of women. They are educational and moral novels that focus on young, rational, virtuous heroines. "

Life

Charlotte Lennox was born Barbara (Charlotte) Ramsay in Gibraltar in 1730. Her father, James Ramsay, was a Scottish ship's captain in the service of the Royal Navy and her mother had both Scottish and Irish ancestors. The girl was initially baptized with the name Barbara Ramsay. Very little is known about Charlotte's early life before she appeared in the cultural community. As a result, her biographers inferred some suspected events from their first novels, to which semi-biographical elements were ascribed. Charlotte's family moved to New York in 1738 . Her father died there in 1742, but her mother and her daughter stayed in the city for a few years. At the age of 15, Charlotte accepted a job as a companion to the widow Mary Luckyn in London . But as soon as she arrived, she found that her future employer was obviously economically deranged from the death of her son. Since this position was no longer available, Charlotte became a partner in Lady Isabella Finch.

Writer

Her first volume of poetry appeared in 1747 under the title Poems on Several Occasions and was dedicated to Lady Isabell. Charlotte prepared herself for a life at court, but this future she prevented by marrying Alexander Lennox, a hard-to-characterize, phlegmatic, yet restless Scot. His only known job was in customs clearance from 1772 to 1782. But even this position is only passed down as a courtesy of the Duke of Newcastle to Charlotte Lennox. Alexander Lennox tried to assert himself as the sure heir of the Earl of Lennox in 1768, but the House of Lords rejected his claims on the grounds that he was born a bastard of an earl or because of "birth misfortunes". as Charlotte put it more tactfully.

After getting married, Charlotte Lennox turned her attention to becoming an actress, but had little success. The ever ready patron of the fine arts, Horace Walpole, described her performance in Richmond in 1748 as "deplorable". Nevertheless, she made it into a benefit night performance at the Haymarket Theater as part of a production of The Mourning Bride (1750).

This year, she released her most successful poem, The Art of coquetry (The art of coquetry) in the Gentleman's Magazine. At this point she met the well-known writer and literary critic Samuel Johnson , who from then on knew how to praise her in the highest tones. Due to her financial problems, Lennox decided to start writing novels. When her first novel, The Life of Harriot Stuart, Written by Herself , appeared, Johnson threw a lavish celebration in her honor. She received a laurel wreath and an apple cake, which was decorated with a leaf of real laurel . According to Johnson, she was valued higher than his other female literary protégés Elizabeth Carter , Hannah More and Frances Burney . He made efforts to ensure that Charlotte Lennox was also introduced to other important members of the London literary and cultural scene.

The other ladies from Johnson's literary circle, on the other hand, were not impressed by Lennox and her emphasis. Hester Thrale , Elizabeth Carter, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu were openly hostile to them for their own housekeeping, allegedly displeasing personality, or temperament. They viewed her specifically as "unlady-like", i.e. unladylike, and as "incendiary".

Regardless, both Samuel Richardson and Samuel Johnson reviewed Lennox's second and most successful novel, The Female Quixote, or, The Adventures of Arabella , which they also assisted in editing. The militant colleague and literary critic Henry Fielding praised the work in his Covent Garden Journal No. 24. The Female Quixote was quite successful. It was reprinted several times and was reprinted in a number of great novels in 1783, 1799 and 1810. The novel was translated into German in 1754, into Dutch in 1762, into French in 1773 and 1801, and into Spanish in 1808.

The novel formally reverses the principle of Cervantes' Don Quixote : Just as the Don sees himself as a chivalrous hero in romance, so the heroine Arabella misunderstands herself as female love in her idealized romance. While the Don thinks it is his duty to extol the Platonic love and purity of the ladies he meets, Arabella believes it is in her power to kill at a glance and it is the duty of her lovers to suffer or pass severe trials for them. With this and her other novels, she is considered one of Jane Austen's pioneers .

The Female Quixote , like almost all publications by women writers of the 18th and early 19th centuries, was published anonymously . In theory, this anonymity lasted until Lennox's death. But it was an open secret in the cultural circles that she was behind the successful novel. Her other works were always provided with the note that they came from the author of The Female Quixote . On the other hand, one looks in vain for her name in every new edition of the work during her lifetime.

The translator and censor of the Spanish version, Lieutenant Colonel Don Bernardo María de Calzada, introduced the text in the introduction as an English novel by an unknown author, translated from English by D. Bernardo. However, de Calzado, who was not fluent in English, had actually translated the novel from the French version, which had already been censored. In addition, de Calzada warned the reader in the foreword against the questionable quality of the text, since good British texts would only be written by "Fyelding" (!) And Richardson. Both authors deserve international fame, in contrast to those more mechanical romances that are written under different names for publishing bookstores like Edmund Curll , or those satirical romance that are published under singular pseudonyms .

translator

Joseph Baretti taught Lennox Italian and several members of the literary circle helped her translate The Greek Theater of Father Brumoy , the most influential French study of mid-18th century Greek tragedy , into English. By learning different languages, she turned her attention to the origins for William Shakespeare's plays. In 1753 she brought out Shakespear Illustrated by thoroughly discussing its sources. Since she preferred the original versions over adaptations, she ended up with her work as a critic of Shakespeare. On the other hand, she discussed neither the grace of Shakespeare's sonnets nor the power of his character drawing, so that the well-known actor and theater director David Garrick and her patron Johnson both viewed their work as more of an exposure than an illustration of the great English poet. In 1753 she translated the Memoirs of Maximilian de Bethune, Duke of Sully of the French statesman and Marshal of France Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully , which sold well.

Her third novel, Henrietta (1758), was also considered a sales success, but did not generate any profit for her. From 1760 to 1761 she wrote for the periodical The Lady's Museum , which contained material that might have supplemented her novel Sophia (1762). In order for her livelihood to remain somewhat secure, Lennox had to open her own house for the education of young girls from 1761 to 1763. David Garrick produced Old City Manners at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane 1775 (an adaptation by Ben Jonsons Eastward Ho ). Finally, she published her penultimate women's novel, Euphemia , in 1790 , which was unsuccessful because the public's taste had meanwhile disdained the romantic novel.

children

Charlotte Lennox had two children who survived infancy, Harriot Holles Lennox (1765–1802 / 4) and George Lewis Lennox (* 1771). Alienated from her husband for many years, she finally separated from him on good terms in 1793. In the following years, Charlotte lived in great poverty until the end of her life, completely dependent on support from the Royal Literary Fund . The writer died in London on January 4, 1804 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Broad Court Cemetery.

reception

Henry Fielding recommended her main work, The Female Quixote , as it dealt with everyday issues realistically, and saw it as a satire on the narrow-mindedness, vanity and affectation of the ruling woman's world. Jane Spence, however, interpreted Fielding's praise as ambivalent. In her view, Fielding had praised the works of women writers to encourage his rivalry with Richardson, who was an even worse author.

Contemporaries praised the talent and elegance of their translations, which also saw multiple editions.

During the 19th century, The Female Quixote remained reasonably popular. During the 20th century, feminist scholars like Janet Todd , Jane Spencer and Nancy Armstrong extolled the skill and ingenuity of Charlotte Lennox.

plant

The Female Quixote , 1752

Poems

  • Poems on several occasions. Written by a lady. Printed for, and sold by S. Paterson, London 1747.
  • The Art of Coquetry. 1750.

Novels

  • The Life of Harriot Stuart. Printed for J. Payne, and J. Bouquet, London 1751.
  • The Female Quixote or the Adventures of Arabella . Printed for J. Smith, Dublin 1752.
    • Don Quixote in a hoop skirt: or the dire incidents of the heroine Arabella. Reason u. Holle, Hamburg 1754.
  • Henrietta. Printed for A. Millar, London 1758.
    • Henriette. Weidmann, Leipzig 1761.
  • Sophia. Printed for James Fletcher, London 1762.
  • The history of the Marquiss of Lussan and Isabella. J. Hoey, Jr., Dublin 1764.
  • Euphemia. Printed for T. Cadell; and J. Evans, London 1790.
    • Euphemia. Translated by Ferdinand Oehmigke , Linckesche Lending Library, Küstrin / Berlin 1792.
  • Hermione, or the orphan sisters .: a novel. In four volumes. Printed for William Lane, at the Minerva, London 1791.
  • The history of Sir George Warrington: or the political Quixote. By the author of The female Quixote. In three volumes. Printed for J. Bell, Oxford-Street, London 1797.

Literary criticism

  • Shakespear illustrated: or the novels and histories, on which the plays of Shakespear are founded, collected and translated from the original authors. With critical remarks. In two volumes. By the author of The female Quixote. Printed for A. Millar in the Strand, London 1753.

Plays

  • Angelica, or, Quixote in petticoats: a comedy in two acts. Printed for the author and sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster, London 1758.
  • Philander: a dramatic pastoral. By Mrs. Charlotte Lennox, Author of the Female Quixote, Printed for Richard Smith, at the Hercules in Dame-Street, Dublin 1758.
  • The Sister. Printed for J. Dodsley; and T. Davies, London 1762. (Comedy)
  • Old City Manners. 1775.
  • The heiress . A comedy in five acts. As performed at the Theater-Royal-Drury-Lane. London 1786.

Translations

  • Maximilien de Béthune Sully : Memoirs of Maximilian de Bethune, Duke of Sully, prime-minister to Henry the Great. 1753.
  • Vital d 'Audiguier : The memoirs of the Countess of Berci. Taken from the French by the author of the Female Quixote. In two volumes. Printed for A. Millar, London 1756 .
  • M. de La Beaumelle : Memoire for the history of Madame de Maintenon and of the last age. Printed for A. Millar, and J. Nourse, London 1757.
  • Pierre Brumoy : The Greek Theater of Father Brumoy. Translated by Mrs. Charlotte Lennox, Millar, Vaillant, Baldwin, Crowder, Johnston, Dodsley etc., London 1759.

literature

  • Catherine Gallagher: Nobody's story: the vanishing acts of women writers in the marketplace, 1670-1820. University of California Press, Berkeley 1994, ISBN 0-520-08510-8 .
  • Susan Catto: Modest ambition: the influence of Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson and the ideal of female diffidence on Sarah Fielding, Charlotte Lennox and Frances Brooke. University of Oxford 1998.
  • PS Gordon: The Space of Romance in Lennox's Female Quixote. In: Studies in English Literature. 38, 1998, pp. 499-516.
  • Laurie Langbauer: Women and romance: the consolations of gender in the English novel. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 1990, ISBN 0-8014-2421-6
  • Arno Löffler : The Insane Heroine: Charlotte Lennox 'The Female Quixote. In: Works from English and American studies. 11, 1986, pp. 68-81.
  • Arno Löffler: Lennox, Charlotte. In: Metzler Lexicon of English-Speaking Authors . 631 portraits - from the beginning to the present. Edited by Eberhard Kreutzer and Ansgar Nünning , Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-476-01746-X , p. 346f.
  • Devoney Looser: Rethinking women / history / literature: a feminist investigation of disciplinarity in Lucy Hutchinson, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Charlotte Lennox, and Jane Austen. State University of New York at Stony Brook 1993.
  • Howard Maynadier: The first American novelist? Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1940.
  • Patricia Ann Meyer Spacks: Desire and truth: functions of plot in eighteenth-century English novels. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1990, ISBN 0-226-76845-7 .
  • Philippe Séjourné: The mystery of Charlotte Lennox, first novelist of colonial America (1727? -1804). Editions Ophrys, Gap 1967.
  • Norman Toby Simms: Crypto-judaism, madness, and the female Quixote: Charlotte Lennox as Marrana in mid-eighteenth century England. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY 2004. ISBN 978-0-7734-6499-5
  • Norbert Schürer: Charlotte Lennox: correspondence and miscellaneous documents. Bucknell University Press / Rowman & Littlefield, Lewisburg / Lanham, Maryland. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61148-390-1 .
  • Miriam Rossiter Small: Charlotte Ramsay Lennox, an eighteenth century lady of letters. New Haven, Yale University Press; London, H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1935.
  • Susan Carlile: Charlotte Lennox: an independent mind , Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press, [2018], ISBN 978-1-4426-4848-7

Web links

Commons : Charlotte Lennox  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In some sources the date of birth is given as 1729 and the place of birth as New York .
  2. ^ Betty A. Schellenberg: The Professionalization of Women Writers in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005, p. 101 .
  3. ^ Arno Löffler : Lennox, Charlotte. In: Metzler Lexicon of English-Speaking Authors . 631 portraits - from the beginning to the present. Edited by Eberhard Kreutzer and Ansgar Nünning , Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-476-01746-X , p. 346.
  4. ↑ a b c d Hugh Amory: Lennox, (Barbara) Charlotte (1730/31? -1804). 2004. In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Accessed October 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ M. Battestin: Henry Fielding: A Life. Routledge, London 1993, p. 543.
  6. ↑ The exceptions to the rule were mostly only their translations, as for example with Sarah Fielding .
  7. ↑ The Greek Theater of Father Brumoy, translated by Mrs. Charlotte Lennox (London: Millar, Vaillant, Baldwin, Crowder, Johnston, Dodsley etc. 1759)
  8. ↑ Cf. Arno Löffler : Lennox, Charlotte. In: Metzler Lexicon of English-Speaking Authors . 631 portraits - from the beginning to the present. Edited by Eberhard Kreutzer and Ansgar Nünning , Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-476-01746-X , p. 347.
  9. ↑ Jane Spencer: Fielding and female authority. In: Claude Rawson (Ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Henry Fielding. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge / New York 2007, pp. 122–137, here: p. 133 .
  10. ^ Betty A. Schellenberg: The Professionalization of Women Writers in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2005, p. 102 .
personal data
SURNAME Lennox, Charlotte
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lennox, Charlotte Barbara; Lenox, Charlotte; Ramsay Lennox, Charlotte; Ramsay, Charlotte; Ramsay, Barbara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English writer, playwright, poet and translator
DATE OF BIRTH 1730
PLACE OF BIRTH Gibraltar
DATE OF DEATH January 4, 1804
Place of death London