Regency Women of Character: Maria Garcia

Maria Garcia (‘La belle Espagnole, – ou – la doublure de Madame Tallien’)
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 25 February 1796

Maria Garcia, styled as La Belle Espagnole, was a popular pantomime and tightrope performer in London, mostly at Sadler’s Wells, between 1785 and 1796. Believed to be from Georgia (Van Leeuwen, 2019), Garcia’s signature was to dance upon the tightrope with castanets. She also would sometimes dance with husband Paulo Redige, “the Little Devil”. The pair were, before the French Revolution, part of Signor Placido’s travelling troope of performers.

Here is a Victorian account of the print above:

Wright, T., Evans, R. H. (1851). Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray: Comprising a Political and Humorous History of the Latter Part of the Reign of George the Third. United Kingdom: Henry G. Bohn.

The memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi  recount Maria as very kind, often giving him money to buy “childish luxury” and that she was a very beautiful woman as well as an elegant and wonderful performer (Grimaldi, 1846).

James-Gillray.org explains the reference to Madame Tallien, a Spanish born French noblewoman and socialite, and that Gillray’s print was likely a satirical take on Maria being featured in Heideloff’s February 1796 issue of Gallery of Fashion:

Theresa Tallien nee Cabarrus, later Princess of Chimay, was the leader of The Marvelous Women (Les Merveilleuses) who introduced the Greek Revival Directoire style.  Maria’s appearance at the Opera House was the inspiration for a comparison to Tallien, but it was obviously intended as a joke for the two women bore little resemblance except for their style of dress:

François Pascal Simon Gérard, dit baron Gérard (1770-1837). “Thérésia Cabarrus (1773-1835), comtesse de Caraman (Madame Tallien)”, 1804. Huile sur toile. Paris, musée Carnavalet.

1796 was, coincidentally, the year that Maria Garcia dropped from the public eye, abruptly ending her career as a performer in August.  Though likely in her 30s, she would not return to her life on the stage.

Grimaldi, J., Dickens, C. (1846). Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. United Kingdom: Richard Bensley, New Burlington Street.

Van Leeuwen, EJ et al (2019). Haunted Europe: Continental Connections in English-Language Gothic Writing, Film and New Media. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.