Regency Women of Character: Elizabeth Inchbald

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MRS ELIZABETH INCHBALD Aug 1 At the boarding house Ken sington aged 66 the celebrated Mrs Inchbald She was the daughter of a farmer named Simpson and was born at Staningfield in Suffolk in 1756 Having devoted much of her early life to read ing and losing her father she at the age of sixteen came to London without the knowledge of her family and made an effort to obtain an engagement on the stage This brought her acquainted with Mr Inchbald who offered her mar riage which was accepted With this gentleman who was an actor of reputa tion she went to Scotland and after performing there four seasons visited York but at the end of two years the health of Mrs Inchbald declining she and her husband went to France 1779 she became a widow at Leeds where her husband was buried An ele gant Latin inscription written by Mr John Kemble late of Covent Garden Theatre is placed on his tomb and may be seen in our vol LXXXII part i p 145 In Mrs Inchbald now came to London and made her first appearance at Covent Garden as Bellario in the play of Phi laster Oct 3 1780 She next turned her attention to dramatie composition and in 1784 appeared at the Haymarket theatre her farce called A Mogul Tale the success of which encouraged the manager to bring out her comedy of I ll Tell You What which Mr Har ris had rejected In 1789 she quitted the stage and since that period has de pended chiefly on her literary labours She had been very handsome in her youth and retained much of her beauty and elegance to the last appearing much younger than she really was Though beautiful in person and in the early part of life exposed to the hard ships and vicissitudes of the theatrical profession in a provincial career her conduct was unimpeached and unim peachable Her remains were deposited at Ken sington church yard As she was of the Roman Catholic faith the rites of her religion were administered to her by two Roman Catholic Clergymen who resided with her in the same boarding house at Kensington It is matter of regret that Memoirs of her Life written by herself were destroyed at her death by her own positive direc tion It was her desire that her fune ral
ral might be private and limited to her relations and intimate friends other wise it is probable that the theatrical community would have been anxious to testify their respect for her character by attending The following is a list of her publi cations Appearance is against Them a farce 1786 8vo I ll Tell You What a com 1786 8vo The Wi dow's Vow a farce 1786 8vo The Child of Nature a dram piece 1788 8vo Midnight Hour a com 1788 8vo Such Things Are a play 1788 8vo The Married Man a com 1789 8vo Next Door Neighbours com 1791 A Simple Story nov 4 vols 1791 12mo Every One Has His Fault a com 1793 8vo The Wed ding Day com 1794 8vo Nature and Art a nov 2 vols 1796 12mo Wives as they Were and Maids as they Are 1797 8vo Lover's Vows a play 1798 8vo Wise Man of the East 1799 8vo To Marry or Not to Marry com 1805 8vo Mrs Inch bald was also employed in editing the Bri tish Theatre a collection of plays acted at the theatres royal with biographical and critical remarks 25 vols 1806 1809 12mo also a Collection of Farces and other after pieces in 7 vols 12mo 18mo and the Modern Theatre 10 vols 1809 The last Will and Testament of Mrs Inchbald was registered in the Preroga tive Court on the 17th instant Probate being granted to Frances Phillips wife of John Phillips and George Huggins her nephew the executors her personal pro perty was sworn to be under 6000 in value Amongst the legacies are 501 to the Covent Garden Theatrical Fund 50l to Mrs Isabella Mattocks late of that theatre 100l to Miss Cummins her god daughter of the Theatre Royal York and 201 per annum to a person calling himself Robert Inchbald the illegitimate son of her late husband 50l to the Ca tholic Society for the relief of the aged poor 201 each to her late laundress and heir dresser provided they should inquire of her executors concerning her decease 100l to Mr Taylor oculist of the Sun Office in the Strand & c & c The residue is bequeathed to her nephew and niece George Huggins and Ann Jarrett The testatrix desired to be buried in Kensing ton Church yard between the hours of eight and eleven in the morning that three mourning coaches might attend her hearse and that Mass and other sacred ceremonies should be performed usual upon the decease of a Roman Catholic GENT MAG August 1821 The Gentleman’s Magazine. (1821). United Kingdom: F. Jefferies.

Elizabeth Inchbald’s life story was seen as one of romance.  With her father’s passing when she was eight, leaving the family in dire straights, Elizabeth taught herself and read voraciously.  Then, in 1772, she decided to strike out on her own and went to London:

filled and the weariness of solitude She wrote to one of her married sisters then living in London and con fessed to her the imprudence of which she had been guilty While expecting her reply she accidentally met with the husband of another sister or as she quaintly puts it in her Diary happened of brother Slender She was thus brought within the influence of family ties and wisely accepted the protection offered her by her brother in law and her sister She then resumed negotiations with the Drury Lane managers but soon discovered that a young and beautiful woman in entering upon a theatrical life is frequently exposed to considerable anxiety and even peril She suffered many insults was exposed to not a few indignities brow beaten and disappointed so that her joy was great when she fell in again with Mr Inchbald On applying to him for advice he assured her that she could be effectually defended and supported only by a husband
But who would marry me she said in frank simplicity I would replied Mr Inchbald if you would have me now Yes sir said Elizabeth and would for ever be grateful Thus it came to pass that the young beauty gave her hand to her middle aged suitor There was no affecta tion of love or sentiment on her part but she really appreciated his good sense amiability and integrity and their married life a brief one for Mr Inchbald died in 1779 was very happy His widow did not marry again She pursued an industrious and not undistinguished career as actress dramatist and novelist to a green old age Her death took place at Kensington on the 1st of August 1821 in her sixty ninth year Adams, W. H. D. (1883). Child-life and Girlhood of Remarkable Women: A Series of Chapters from Female Biography. United Kingdom: W. Swann Sonnenschein.

Elizabeth had a speech impediment and likely some form of dyslexia based on her own account, which makes her success as an actress and writer all the more astounding.  While her acting career did not ultimately bring her much fame or funds, after her husband’s death she did receive significant acclaim as a playwright and author.  Nineteen of her comedies appeared on the London state between 1784 and 1805, and her novels published in the 1790s were flavoured with political radicalism and also a need for respectability. Elizabeth quarreled with Wollstonecraft in 1797 over her marriage which exposed the illegitimacy of her daughter Fanny.

Janeites will be interested that Elizabeth was the translator of Lover’s Vows which appears in Mansfield Park.

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