Elizabeth Hervey | |
---|---|
Born | Elizabeth March 1748 |
Died | 1820 | (aged 71–72)
Occupation | writer |
Language | English |
Years active | 1788–1814 |
Spouse | Alexander Harvie; William Thomas Hervey |
Relatives | William Beckford (brother) |
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Elizabeth Hervey (1748–1820) was the author of seven novels, six of which were published and one of which exists "in a carefully-bound manuscript." [1]
Elizabeth March was the daughter of Maria Hamilton (7 January 1725 – 22 July 1798), daughter of George Hamilton (MP for Wells) and granddaughter of the sixth earl of Abercorn, and Francis March, a "Jamaican planter and City man." [2] After the death of her father, her mother married wealthy planter, slave-owner and politician William Beckford. [3] While still in her teens, March married Alexander Harvie, a business associate of her stepfather's who died in 1765 and left her a widow at the age of seventeen. [4] Her second marriage was also brief: in 1774 she married Col William Thomas Hervey and had two sons before Hervey either died or the marriage ended in 1778, while the family was living abroad due to debt. [5] In 1789, Hervey was reported to have been living in Brussels and having an affair with poet and radical Robert Merry, with whom she apparently maintained a friendly relationship after they parted. [1] Merry was a leading force in the Della Cruscan literary movement who came in for considerable criticism for their literary mannerisms.
Hervey was the elder half-sister of wealthy art collector and writer William Beckford. The siblings corresponded when young, but would seem to have been less close when older: in 1797 Beckford published a "marked burlesque attack on women's writing": Azemia: A Descriptive and Sentimental Novel. Interspersed with Pieces of Poetry. [1] Azemia satirized women authors of sentimental novels including Mary Champion de Crespigny, Susannah Gunning, Hannah More, Mary Robinson — also associated with the Della Cruscans — and Hervey herself. The incident apparently caused her "much upset," though modern commentators tend to agree that Hervey is less deserving of the criticism than some of Beckford's other targets. [5]
Hervey's first five novels were all published anonymously, which has at times led to difficulties for bibliographers: her second novel, Louisa (1790) has been erroneously attributed to Jane West. [3] Her third novel, The history of Ned Evans (1796), is a fictional captivity narrative which also treats the Irish nationalist movement. [1] Her final novel, Amabel; or, Memoirs of A Woman of Fashion (1814), her only work to debut under her own name, was dedicated to the queen. [5]
Her novels went into multiple editions and at least four of them were translated into French: The history of Ned Evans, [6] The church of St. Siffrid, [7] The Mourtray Family, [8] and Amabel. [7] Hervey's publishing career was book-ended by the Minerva Press: both her first novel, and the second edition of her sixth and final novel, were published by that well-known company. [9]
Hervey was one of the 106 "lost" women writers Dale Spender listed in Mothers of the Novel in 1986.
Elizabeth Hervey | |
---|---|
Born | Elizabeth March 1748 |
Died | 1820 | (aged 71–72)
Occupation | writer |
Language | English |
Years active | 1788–1814 |
Spouse | Alexander Harvie; William Thomas Hervey |
Relatives | William Beckford (brother) |
![]() |
Elizabeth Hervey (1748–1820) was the author of seven novels, six of which were published and one of which exists "in a carefully-bound manuscript." [1]
Elizabeth March was the daughter of Maria Hamilton (7 January 1725 – 22 July 1798), daughter of George Hamilton (MP for Wells) and granddaughter of the sixth earl of Abercorn, and Francis March, a "Jamaican planter and City man." [2] After the death of her father, her mother married wealthy planter, slave-owner and politician William Beckford. [3] While still in her teens, March married Alexander Harvie, a business associate of her stepfather's who died in 1765 and left her a widow at the age of seventeen. [4] Her second marriage was also brief: in 1774 she married Col William Thomas Hervey and had two sons before Hervey either died or the marriage ended in 1778, while the family was living abroad due to debt. [5] In 1789, Hervey was reported to have been living in Brussels and having an affair with poet and radical Robert Merry, with whom she apparently maintained a friendly relationship after they parted. [1] Merry was a leading force in the Della Cruscan literary movement who came in for considerable criticism for their literary mannerisms.
Hervey was the elder half-sister of wealthy art collector and writer William Beckford. The siblings corresponded when young, but would seem to have been less close when older: in 1797 Beckford published a "marked burlesque attack on women's writing": Azemia: A Descriptive and Sentimental Novel. Interspersed with Pieces of Poetry. [1] Azemia satirized women authors of sentimental novels including Mary Champion de Crespigny, Susannah Gunning, Hannah More, Mary Robinson — also associated with the Della Cruscans — and Hervey herself. The incident apparently caused her "much upset," though modern commentators tend to agree that Hervey is less deserving of the criticism than some of Beckford's other targets. [5]
Hervey's first five novels were all published anonymously, which has at times led to difficulties for bibliographers: her second novel, Louisa (1790) has been erroneously attributed to Jane West. [3] Her third novel, The history of Ned Evans (1796), is a fictional captivity narrative which also treats the Irish nationalist movement. [1] Her final novel, Amabel; or, Memoirs of A Woman of Fashion (1814), her only work to debut under her own name, was dedicated to the queen. [5]
Her novels went into multiple editions and at least four of them were translated into French: The history of Ned Evans, [6] The church of St. Siffrid, [7] The Mourtray Family, [8] and Amabel. [7] Hervey's publishing career was book-ended by the Minerva Press: both her first novel, and the second edition of her sixth and final novel, were published by that well-known company. [9]
Hervey was one of the 106 "lost" women writers Dale Spender listed in Mothers of the Novel in 1986.