The Secret History of the English Spy: 1674-1800
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Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Open Access Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2015 The ecrS et History of the English Spy: 1674-1800 Slaney Chadwick Ross Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations Recommended Citation Ross, Slaney Chadwick, "The eS cret History of the English Spy: 1674-1800" (2015). Open Access Dissertations. 1494. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/1494 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Graduate School Form 30 (Revised 08/14) PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared By Slaney Chadwick Ross Entitled The Secret History of the English Spy: 1674-1800 Doctor of Philosophy For the degree of Is approved by the final examining committee: Manushag N. Powell Nicole J. Horejsi Geraldine Friedman Christopher Lukasik To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification/Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy on Integrity in Research” and the use of copyrighted material. Manushag N. Powell Approved by Major Professor(s): Approved by: Charles Ross / Susan Curtis 04/06/2015 Head of the Department Graduate Program Date i THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH SPY: 1674-1800 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Slaney Chadwick Ross In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2015 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana ii For my parents and my brother, and to the memory of Elena Vaughan Ariano iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this dissertation, I have been very lucky to have the support of a community of academics whose generosity is matched only by their intellectual rigor. I am most indebted to my committee chair, Manushag N. Powell, who has shaped this project from its nascent stages and, in turn, shaped me. Dr. Powell is a once-in-a-lifetime teacher and mentor, and, it hardly needs to be said, a scholar of the first order. Anything I have contributed to this field or will contribute in the future will be a testament to her expertise, patience, and guidance. The members of my committee: Nicole J. Horejsi, Geraldine Friedman, and Christopher Lukasik, have all been deeply intellectually generous to me over the life of this project. Dr. Horejsi gave me an intellectual home and friendship in New York; her incisive comments on my earlier drafts have pushed me to articulate my thoughts to a degree I had not thought possible. I am so grateful to her for her attentive consideration to this project. Dr. Friedman's wisdom and her astute observations have likewise been key components in bringing this project to its current stage. Dr. Lukasik's course on visual studies helped establish a vital critical foundation for this work. I am also particularly grateful to my own Triumvirate of Wit: Rebecah Pulsifer, Rebekah Mitsein, and Helen Hunt, as well as Nick Mohlmann, Mary Beth Harris, and Lizzy Petersen. I also owe great thanks to Ryan Schneider, who is so good to graduate iv students. Finally, Delayne K. Graham's professionalism and kindness have been my saving grace on many occasions. It is a remarkable testament to the collegiality of eighteenth-centuryists that so many brilliant scholars currently at work on subjects related to surveillance in the eighteenth-century have been willing to share their wisdom with me. I was honored to participate in Rivka Swenson's round table on secret histories at the 2014 ASECS Conference and her panel on secret histories at the 2014 CSECS Conference. I learned a great deal from the other participants in both conferences: Erin Keating, Antoinette Sol, Martine Brownley, Melinda Rabb, Paula Backscheider, Rachel Carnell, Rebecca Bullard, Kathryn King, and David Brewer. I am grateful for the support provided by the Purdue Research Foundation during the final year of this project, and the support and academic resources of the Manhattan Research Library Program at the New York Public Library, as well as the Columbia University Library, the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscripts Collection, and New York University's Bobst Library. The Columbia University Eighteenth-Century Seminar allowed me to witness stimulating academic papers by renowned scholars every month. Kathleen Lubey and Wendy Lee have guided me both personally and professionally in New York; they are kindness itself. I suppose it would be possible to write a dissertation without the support of dear friends, but I would not recommend it. I owe a great debt to Nadia Gan and the extended Gan and Bacca families (especially Papa Gan and Joaquin, Ileana, and Richard Baca), Patrick Jones, Andrew Russell and the Russell clan, Deena Selenow and her parents, and Sara Altobelli. Megan Kinney and the Meg girls—Maria Gagnon, Alicia Riguzzi, Marlene Frontera, Lauren Feld, and Lucy Trower, as well as Holly Russo Grannan—have v blessed me with their friendship and good taste. Lisa Rosman is a true dame who conspired with the stars on my behalf. I also thank Go Yoga and Equinox Fitness (especially Darrell Barton, Molly Campe, Constance Marie Cohen, Jena Maenius, and Lilia Mead) for helping me to sweat, which helps me to think. Finally, I thank my husband, Michael O'Neill, for years of love, for being a reader, and for printing my every draft at his office. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION: SPY NARRATIVES, SECRET HISTORIES, AND THE CONTEXTS FOR EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY SURVEILLANCE ................................. 1 Class, Bureaucracy, and the Conditions of Surveillance Fiction .................................. 14 The Economics of Espionage ........................................................................................ 17 Women, Sex, and Surveillance ..................................................................................... 22 Spying and Paranoia ..................................................................................................... 30 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter Summaries ....................................................................................................... 32 Notes ......................................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER ONE: ON THEIR MAJESTIES' SECRET SERVICE: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH SPY IN THE LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ..... 46 Absolutism, Early Modern Spycraft, and the Spying Subject ...................................... 51 Early Modern Surveillance Narratives .......................................................................... 54 Paranoia and Early Surveillance Narratives ................................................................. 59 The Economics of Surveillance .................................................................................... 61 Joseph Bampfield's Apology and Matthew Smith's Memoirs ....................................... 64 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 81 Notes ......................................................................................................................... 87 CHAPTER TWO: LICENSE TO SPILL: SURVEILLANCE NARRATIVES AND THE URBAN SPY .................................................................................................................... 97 The Urban Spy ............................................................................................................ 100 Periodicals, Secret Histories, and Surveillance ........................................................... 119 John Macky's Memoirs of the Secret Services of John Macky ................................... 134 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 140 Notes ....................................................................................................................... 147 CHAPTER THREE: THE SPY WHO LOVED ME: SEXUAL SURVEILLANCE IN THE EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY .................................................................... 157 Eliza Haywood's Bath Intrigues ................................................................................. 165 The Forced Virgin; Or, The Unnatural Mother .......................................................... 176 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 195 Notes ....................................................................................................................... 199 vii Page CHAPTER FOUR: LICENSE RENEWED: SURVEILLANCE IN LATE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DOMESTIC FICTION AND THE GOTHIC NOVEL .... 207 Samuel Richardson's Pamela ...................................................................................... 217 Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent ..........................................................................