The Female Spectator

CHAWTON HOUSE LIBRARY VOL.15 No.1, Winter 2011 ISSN1746-8604 HOUSE LIBRARY VISITING FELLOWSHIPS in partnership with the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Southampton

In October 2007, our first Visiting Fellows arrived We are now inviting applications for the forthcom- at Chawton House Library to take up their fellow- ing academic year. This year, we have taken the ships. We can now count over sixty ‘alumni’ from decision to offer fellowships of no more than one Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and, month. This seems to be the best way of dealing soon, India: our first Visiting Fellow from the coun- with an increasing volume of applications, as the try takes up her position later this year. Readers programme goes from strength to strength. To of The Female Spectator will have read many ac- help us with the administration of the scheme, we counts of the varied and innovative research our are inviting hard copy applications only, and they Fellows have undertaken in recent years. This is- must reach me at the University of Southampton sue is no exception: Meghan Parker, a Visiting Fel- (along with a confidential letter of reference, to be low in 2010, demonstrates the importance of the sent separately) by 9 May 2011. Chawton House Library collection in her article As ever, the aim of our Fellowships is to enable in- about a ‘mysterious note-writer’ in the edition of dividuals to undertake significant research in the Aphra Behn’s Love Letters Between a Nobleman long eighteenth century. In keeping with the mis- and His Sister she consulted whilst in residence sion of the CHL and the special qualities of the Li- here. brary’s collection, projects that focus on women’s As the doctoral dissertations and books start to writing or lives during the period are warmly wel- come in to the collection, acknowledging the sup- comed. Any proposal, however, that promises sig- port offered by the Chawton House Library Visit- nificant research on the long eighteenth century ing Fellowship scheme, it is clear that former Fel- will be given careful consideration. We would also lows found their time in the library invaluable. As welcome applications from groups of up to four the programme grows, it is a particular pleasure scholars who wish to pursue a joint project while in to see friendships forged at Chawton continuing to residence – this is a new move for 2011-12, and one provide mutual support as colleagues meet again at suggested by the wonderfully collegiate atmosphere international conferences such as the British and that most of our Fellows find when they are on site. North American Societies for Eighteenth-Century For further details about the Fellowships, and how Studies. to apply, please see our website: http://www.chaw- For the past two years, the Visiting Fellowships ton.org/education/fellowship.html More informa- have been run in partnership with the Faculty of tion about the University of Southampton Centre Humanities at the University of Southampton. Vis- for Eighteenth-Century Studies can be found here: iting Fellows have benefited enormously from the http://www.soton.ac.uk/scecs/index.html electronic resources offered by Gillian Dow the Hartley Library at the Uni- versity. Unfortunately, Chaw- ton House Library is unable to subscribe to expensive, yet essential, resources for eight- eenth-century scholars such as Eighteenth-Century Collections Online. Accessing the Hartley Library resources means that Visiting Fellows can consult dig- ital editions of works that the library does not (yet!) hold a copy of. We are therefore de- lighted that this support will continue for 2011-12.

The Stables, Chawton House The John Rocque map of The Female Spectator London Winter 2011

Editors: By Jacqui Grainger, Librarian Academic: Gillian Dow The Map Room at Chawton House Library is domi- nated by a massive map of London which has been General: Helen Cole, Sandy White mounted onto a folding screen. It captivates visi- tors, who compare its record to their own knowl- edge of London – even the locations of the homes of eighteenth-century writers and publishers get Chawton House Library Visiting 1 identified. It is one of the collection of maps from Fellowships programme the long eighteenth century at the library that fo- cus on London and , found in the ap- Gillian Dow propriately named Map Room, but also in other locations around the house. The John Rocque map of London 2 The map is one of John Rocque’s ‘Plan of the Cit- Jacqui Grainger ies of London and Westminster and borough of Southwark’ and it measures six-and-a-half feet by thirteen. It is the result of the first thorough On-site accommodation at 3 survey since William Morgan’s ‘London survey’d’ Chawton House Library which had probably first been issued in 1692, and was followed by three reprints up to 1732. As Lon- Gillian Dow don had grown rapidly because of its expanding population, and the development of the West End, A mysterious note-writer and 4 there was a need for a new and more thorough map. Aphra Behn’s Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister John Rocque was born of Huguenot par- Meghan Parker ents and had arrived in England, via Gene- House and Estate News 6 va, at some point be- fore 1734. He worked Paul Dearn as a garden surveyor for the London élite before taking on the Chawton Chronicles: a letter from 7 challenge of survey- the CEO ing what was the larg- Stephen Lawrence est city in the world. He began the work on the survey in 1739 ‘What signifies a theatre?’ Private 8 and, with the engrav- Detail from the John Rocque Theatricals, 1780-1820 er John Pine, sought map, 1746, in the collections at the patronage of the Chawton House Library. Judith Hawley and Elaine McGirr Corporation of Lon- don. Seven years later in 1746 the 24-sheet map was advertised in the General Advertiser and the Sensational Stories: Crime and 10 map’s subscribers had all received their copies by Passion November 1747. The map then became available Helen Cole to non-subscribers. Contemporary advice to pur- chasers was to join the twenty-four sheets togeth- er as one map, either backed on canvas for a roller Dates for your diary 12 and pulley that may be let down for examination, or made into a beautiful and useful screen, such as we have at Chawton. Far more details of the map’s history can be found in The A-Z of Georgian London, with introductory notes by Ralph Hyde (London, Harry Margary, 1981).

2 The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 On-site Accommodation at Chawton House Library Now Available

One never thinks of the south of England as be- ing an isolated part of the world, and yet, on a cold and dark winter evening, the walk from Chawton to the train station in Alton does not seem like a very easy distance. I often feel myself that Chawton may have claims to being the darkest village in Hamp- shire, eschewing street lights for the most part. And although this adds to the charm, it can be an in- convenience for the visitor reliant on public transport. We are delighted, therefore, to announce that we are now able to offer on-site accommodation for those A bedroom in the Stables who would like to come and Whatever your reason for a visit, we can assure visit the library. Perhaps you need to consult one you of a very warm welcome. And we can offer bed of the texts in our library collection, but you can- and a self-service breakfast accommodation in a not apply for a visiting fellowship for a longer stay. room with a private bathroom at the rate of £50 Perhaps you would like to come and hear one of per room per night; £65 for a couple. our evening lectures, but you live too far away to do the return trip in a day. Perhaps you would like This accommodation will be available Monday to to explore the estate, and see the snowdrops, or Thursday, with the possibility of some weekends the roses, in full glory. too. For evening meals, you will share kitchen facilities with our Visiting Fellows, and with other guests in residence. Or you may pre- fer to eat in the local pub, The Greyfriars (torch pro- vided!) To enquire about avail- ability, and to book, please contact Paul Dearn, Operations Manager: [email protected] We look forward to see- ing you at Chawton House Library. Gillian Dow

The Stables kitchen

The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 3 A mysterious note-writer and Aphra Behn’s Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister

By Meghan Parker On the first and second flyleaves are the following notes, written in the same hand: I arrived at Chawton House Library to examine the paratextual materials several female authors, The only work besides the present * of this au- particularly Aphra Behn, used in their publica- thor, is ‘The Secret History of the Rye-house tions printed during the latter half of the seven- Plot and of Monmouth’s Rebellion, written by teenth century. Since my project focuses upon Ford, Lord Grey, in 1685.x Now first published paratextual materials, I concentrated upon the from a Manuscript signed by himself, before the writings that preface the text proper. I was pri- Earl of Sunderland.” 1754. — * Which may ad- marily interested in any differences I might find mit of much doubt. X of this rebellion another among printed editions. It was not, however, the account was published by Dr. Thomas Spratt, printed pages of a particular text that would end bishop of Rochester. Printed Folio Lond: 1685. up catching and holding my attention. “a book,” says dr [sic]: Johnson, “which he thought convenient, after the Revolution, to I wanted to explore how Behn, as a commercial etc. and excuse.”2 author, carefully selected and utilised particular types of paratexts, and how those uses compared A note on the verso of the second flyleaf reads with contemporary and near-contemporary wom- “In the Harleian catalogue this is ascribed to en writers. Behn’s writings are of particular con- Lord Grey. The copy in that collection was of the cern to me because she seems so much more self- present edition, 1721. Bill: Hart: III. no: 19588.” conscious than some of her female contemporar- Who, I wondered, could have written these notes? ies when writing her various introductions. One And why was this person so careful to preserve of the first texts I encountered was a 1721 edition what she or he thought was the true history of the of Aphra Behn’s Love Letters Between a Nobleman text by noting the (presumed) author’s name and and His Sister.1 Chawton houses several versions the true identities of the book’s characters? Thus and editions of the Love Letters, and I wanted to began my adventure to determine the identity of conduct a thorough examination of the ways in the person dubbed the “Unknown Writer.” which they differed in terms of the types, number, and formatting of the paratexts. First, Jacqui Grainger, Chawton’s Librarian, and I discovered that Chawton had purchased the book Upon opening the book, I first encountered a small containing the notes in 2004 from a Sotheby’s auc- scrap of paper, folded in half, and tucked just in- tion of holdings belonging to the late John Brett- side the front cover. In slightly faded ink, the Smith. Jacqui and I tracked down some sales handwritten note reads: brochures for Mr. Brett-Smith’s collection and The Author of these letters was Mrs. Manley a followed them to several libraries and universi- celebrated writer of her time: her pen was most ties throughout the United Kingdom. I contacted licentiously prostituted to the abuse of many these institutions, hoping to find other texts that noble personages, for the truth of wch these let- had once been included either in the Harleian ters are founded, see an account in the Gentle- catalogue or that had once belonged to the same man’s Magazine for Septr 1764, in wch some of unknown writer I was chasing. I was not certain the characters appear to correspond wth others whether the writer, who had taken special care in this book as follows: to ensure posterity, remained aware of the back- story connected to Behn’s novel or whether the Philander Ford Ld Grey of Work writer simply tended to write in his or her books. Beralti George Earl of Berkley I wanted to ascertain whether there might be available some other texts from the Brett-Smith Brilliard Mr Turner collection or from an earlier collection that con- Cesario Duke of Monmouth tained notes from the same person’s hand. Such Sylvia Lady Henrietta Berkley a discovery was not to be, however, since none of Myetilla the wife of Lady Mary own sister the institutions and individuals I spoke with had Philander to Lady Henrietta wife any records of the sort I needed. to Lord Grey

1 The first volume of this story appeared in print in 1684. The edition to which I refer here is Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister; with the history of their adventures. In three parts. The sixth edition. London: 2 I have included here the original punctuation, including Printed for D. Brown, J. Tonson, B. Tooke, G. Strahan, S. the asterisk and the superscripted x, and the order of the Ballard, W. Mears, and F. Clay. 1721. footnotes as they appear in the hand-written note.

4 The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 It was time to try another approach. At this point, The most obvious answer is a later earl of Tanker- I had two solid leads: the first was the date of ville. Because the date of the notes is 1754, the the notes on the flyleaf, 1754, and the second likeliest candidate is the third earl of Tankerville, was the provenance of the slender volume at the Charles Bennet (1716-1767). The National Ar- time the writer was recording his or her thoughts. chives did not have any available examples of his Cambridge University’s Brett-Smith Collection handwriting, but the Northumberland Archives contains, at least in part, “[P]olitical plays, and did. The documents held at the Northumberland coronation or city pageants and processions with Archive include letters with signatures and a Cap- theatrical interludes….[and] has as its main em- tain’s commission into the army signed by Tank- phasis the original dramatic works of the period erville. The letter provides the most significant 1641-1715, mainly in quarto format extending in basis for comparison. The various signatures from a more selective way to 1750.”3 It seemed likely several documents match the handwriting in the that Chawton’s slender volume was once part of letter, proving (as does the Archival attribution) this same collection, but, in the end, it proved im- that the letter itself is in Bennet’s hand, rather possible to substantiate this suspicion since the than having been written by a secretary and sim- collections and libraries contacted had insufficient ply signed by Bennet. The letter itself provides information about earlier owners. This meant that a great many words, phrases, and individual let- the next best clues from the notes were the date ters, both capital and lower-case, which allowed they were written and the (apparently) personal careful comparison between many of those same connection the writer had to Behn’s story. words, phrases, and letters, as they exist in the Behn notes. Thus, an extensive comparison of The writer of the notes in Behn’s book seemed the known handwriting samples of Charles Ben- to be particularly well informed about the socio- net with that of the unknown note-writer proves political history of the events that contributed that the two sets of writing match. so materially to text. The writer was, then, in all likelihood, connected to the events personally, if And so it is my great pleasure to say that schol- from the comfortable distance of a few years’ re- ars and other interested persons can now discuss move; and so the date of 1754 became of singular the notes in Behn’s book not as those of the “Un- importance. Interesting- known Writer,” but as ly, Behn, who only started those of Charles Bennet, publishing her fiction in third earl of Tankerville. the last years of her life, The larger issues here, chose not to put her name of course, are that these on the Love Letters, and notes and their writer signed it using only her ask us to consider how initials, A.B. While the Behn’s texts have spoken attribution today is not to, and about, their read- in question, and it may ers for centuries, and well be that her original how they have asked us readers recognized her all to question both our work and her initials im- role as the audience and mediately, by the time the the larger status of fiction note writer was reading in everyday life. Bennet’s her fiction, that immedi- efforts to illuminate the ate recognition may well Love Letters’ factual ba- have been lost. It is un- sis indicate his belief that surprising, then, that the the written word, even unknown writer misiden- such “licentiously pros- tifies the book’s author tituted” words as Behn’s, first as Mrs. Manley and would live on and influ- later as Ford Lord Grey, ence later readers, when earl of Tankerville him- history itself might be at self. The question then a loss to do so. became who, even from the remove of more than I would like to add a spe- 50 years from the initial cial thank you to Jacqui publication date of 1684, Grainger for her knowl- might stand to gain from edge, her ongoing help, the notes’ clarifications and her eternal patience. and none-too-flattering One of several handwritten notes in Chawton’s 1721 copy of finger pointing. Love Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister, referring to the attribution of the work to Ford Grey 3 http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rarebooks/brett- smith.html

The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 5 HOUSE AND ESTATE NEWS The Pump House

By Paul Dearn, Operations Manager Among the finds is a late-Victorian or early-Ed- wardian push button flag board, the type that As part of our ongoing conservation work at Chaw- was used in many of the larger houses to call for ton House Library a review of the storage areas the assistance of the staff in service. Equally fas- has been conducted in the main house and the cinating is a push button mechanism of ornately immediate outbuildings. One of the areas being decorated, gilt metal that would have been placed reviewed at the moment is an outbuilding known somewhere in the main house. A particularly nice as the Pump House, which traditionally supplied soda siphon was found with the name Aylward & water to the main house and estate but is now a Sons Winchester & Southampton etched on the store room. Part of the review is aimed at identi- body. This firm was known as a beer, wine and fying items that may be of importance to Chawton spirits merchant and traded out of Jewry Street, House Library and cataloging them with the po- Winchester as early as 1859 through to the 1960s. tential that these items may be placed on display. Just as interesting was a small collection of brown Some of the items found so far in the Pump House glazed jars, the type that was used in the kitchens have been fascinating, including some decorated of larger houses. plaster which had initially been found in the dell. These items offer us a small insight into the social (The dell is the dip to the right of the drive as history and fabric of Chawton House which can, if you are walking from Chawton House to The Old displayed, offer a different peek into another fas- Stables.) The theory is that perhaps the plaster cinating side of this wonderful property. was the remains of a decorated ceiling or a fire- place and that it might have come from the Din- ing Room. This is definitely a case for further re- search.

6 The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 CHAWTON CHRONICLES: A LETTER FROM THE CEO

It is a truth universally acknowledged that whilst Chawton House dated 1780 which now hangs in individual and national differences are impor- the Oak Room). The good news is that, subject to tant, it is the common and shared knowledge of full planning permission, we intend to commence people that enables real progress. Increasing and the project in the summer. exchanging that knowledge will be crucial to en- hancing social, cultural and economic wealth over Once up, the barn will not only provide func- the coming decades. In this context, Chawton tional agricultural space for horses and cattle but House Library is already playing a part since it will form part of our growing educational serv- has enjoyed, from its inception, an international ice; through talks, demonstrations and exhibits, scope. However, in 2011 this is set to grow sub- groups will learn about farming history, sustain- stantially with the expansion of existing overseas able agriculture, organic production and the im- links and through the setting up of new partner- portance of nature conservation and ecology. ships. Particularly exciting is a Visiting Scholar- Another notable development is the acquisition of ship Programme in Literature and Creative Writ- a wonderful collection of books about the Brontës ing for academic staff from universities in China. that has been generously donated by Mr Tony Ya- The project, which has been developed in asso- blon. Readers of The Female Spectator can look ciation with colleagues from the Department for forward to hearing more about this collection in Continuing Education at the University of Oxford, our next issue. is scheduled to welcome its first participants in September. The Library has greatly benefited, in In the meantime, I have one final initiative that the past, from the intellectual and social vitality I wish to mention, namely the CHL short story that international visitors bring with them and we competition. In 2009 the inaugural competition are looking forward to the extra dimension that was a huge success, attracting over 300 submis- this initiative will bring. sions. The final judging was undertaken by Sarah Waters who gave up time in her very busy sched- The China programme is, however, just one of a ule to help us. The winning entries were later number of schemes that promise to make 2011 a published by Honno in the UK under the title memorable year. Another involves the reconstruc- Dancing with Mr Darcy. Such was the success of tion of an eighteenth-century barn on the Chawton the volume that the North American rights were House Estate. The barn has already been of great acquired by Harper Collins and in October 2010 interest to the local community as it was previous- it appeared with a run of 30,000 copies under its ly on land owned by Sainsbury’s at their store in William Morrow imprint. nearby Alton. The structure was the last remaining element of the Dyer family’s building yard which As a result of this success, it was decided to repeat was established in the early 1780s. Interestingly, the competition and entries are now being ac- Edward Austen Knight’s account records show cepted with a closing date of 31 March. This year that the firm worked on ’s House. For we are inviting stories inspired by the heroes and example – ‘1809 villains in Jane Nov 9 Paid John Austen’s novels. Dyer a Bill for The Chair of Judg- work and materi- es will be award- als at Mrs Austen’s winning author House £45/19/0’. Michèle Roberts. Full details, in- The historic and cluding rules architectural in- and guidelines, terest generated can be found on by the barn led to the CHL website a preservation or- homepage www. der being served. chawtonhouse. Subsequently it org was agreed that CHL would take Good luck to the main timbers those of you who with a view to re- decide to enter. erecting and re- storing them on Stephen the site of an earli- Lawrence er barn (evidenced in the Adam Cal- Adam Callender gouache, a prospect of Chawton House in the County of Hampshire, lender painting of Circa 1780. Copyright Richard Knight

The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 7 ‘What signifies a theatre?’ Private Theatricals, 1780-1820

By Judith Hawley and Elaine McGirr and interruptions, from the discovery of an uncast role, which was quickly taken up by the Margra- Braving the inclement weather, a group of stu- vine’s humble companion, Miss Graves, played by dents, scholars and theatre practitioners came to- Katie Harrison, to an intrusion from the Margrave, gether at Chawton House to analyse and celebrate played by Felix Clutson, in search of his slippers, the old art of private theatricals. As we know from which had been appropriated as props. , private theatricals were a popular but potentially disruptive pastime in Jane Austen’s Each student researched and adopted their own day. ‘What signifies a theatre?’ asks Henry Craw- ‘1803 character,’ who then took on an additional ford, with an apparent lack of guile, ‘We shall role in Nourjahad. James Potter performed as only be amusing ourselves.’ Participants in this William Beckford, who brought the spirit of his event destroyed neither the fabric of the house scandalous Vathek to his performance as Nourja- nor personal relationships; rather they explored had. Celine Hawkes was fascinated by Lady Cra- the history and significance of private theatricals ven’s pre-Revolution visits to Versailles and her through performance, literary analysis and schol- subsequent support of aristocratic émigrés: she arly research. performed as the Duchesse d’Armagnac, whose froideur made her displeasure at being cast as For the evening of the 10th December, Chaw- Cadiga, the ‘withered beauty’ of Nourjahad’s har- ton House was imaginatively transformed into em, abundantly clear. The harem was played by Brandenburgh House, the west London residence a quartet of young, single women enjoying the of the Margrave and Margravine of Ansbach, for- chance to display their talents and costumes. merly Lady Elizabeth Craven. Infected with ‘the- Special mention should also go to Caroline Icke, atro-mania’ from an early age, Lady Craven was who performed the part of the Margravine’s friend the author and director of a number of private and rival, Lady Catherine Grey, who was only theatricals. The evening’s performance used the meant to serve as a narrator, but more than once 1803 performance of The History of Nourjahad – tried to transform the theatrical into a one-wom- and the rest of Elizabeth Craven’s remarkable ca- an show, and to Lexi Hatziharalambous, who, as reer – to explore the genre Lady Sibyl Damer, took on and its inherent tensions, the roles of Mandana and especially those between the Genie – parts that, as public and private, profes- the Margravine reminded sional and amateur, men audiences at the start of and women, experience and the rehearsal, she would youth, France and England, normally perform herself. and the neo-classical and Romantic. The rehearsal format thus dramatised the blurring The performance began of boundaries that was to in the kitchen, where the be theorised by several actors, in character as papers the next day. Not friends and dependents of only did students develop the Margravine, mingled their understanding of a with guests and prepared historical period and gen- them for the evening’s main re often ignored in theatre event: a rehearsal of their studies, but they also used hostess’s latest theatrical. their ‘1803’ knowledge The Magravine, performed to interrogate and reflect by Louise Parker, control- upon the present. led the evening from her front-row seat, directing On the second day, schol- her actors, correcting her ars presented papers on prompter, and arguing with both the literary repre- the professional actress sentation of private the- Frances Abingdon (played atricals and historical evi- by Kayleigh Tremaine), dence of amateur perform- who felt her talents were ance. Gillian Skinner and wasted in a small part and Janine Haugen detailed unflattering costume. The Katie Harrison as Miss Emily Graves; Caroline Icke as Lady ’s personal Catherine Grey; and Louise Parker as Lady Elizabeth Cra- rehearsal ran into problems ven, the Margravine of Ansbach. experience of drama and

8 The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 analysed her represen- tation of theatricals in The Wanderer. After Meechal Hoffman’s pa- per on Mansfield Park, a lively discussion about Austen’s and Burney’s supposedly anti-theat- rical prejudice ensued. Two panels presented ar- chival research and fresh interpretations of ‘ac- tual theatricals’. Michael Dobson discussed the friction between public and private theatre and showed how the two worlds sometimes came together. Helen Brooks presented further evi- dence of two-way traf- fic between professional and amateur drama. James Potter as William Beckford as Nourjahad with Lexi Hatziharilambous as Lady Sibyl Damer as Mandana. Some speakers focused on individuals: Chrisy Abigail Anderson from the Theatre Royal, Bury Dennis spoke on Elizabeth Farren, Countess of St Edmunds and Kate Napier who runs the thea- Derby and her contribution to the theatricals at tre company, Artifice, eloquently demonstrated Richmond House. Lady Elizabeth Harcourt was ways in which performances in historic venues the subject of Carly Watson’s paper, which opened can create a zone of vibration - both stimulating up a view of the political importance of domestic and challenging - between the past and present. engagement with the theatre. The role of women They achieved this effect in their contribution to in private theatres was crucial both to the success discussion and in the final event of day. After the of the endeavours and to the personal satisfaction papers, we repaired to the Great Hall where, in they gave. Sometimes ‘theatro-mania’ infected front of a festive log fire, Abigail directed actors several generations, as Anna Fitzer demonstrated from Artifice in a rehearsed reading of a selection in her paper on the Sheridans and the Le Fanus. of dialogues and playlets. Introduced by Deirdre It was also not confined to social élites or country Le Faye, this lively reading of rarely-performed houses, as Mary Isbell proved in her account of works by Jane Austen was a particular treat. plays staged by members of the Royal Navy and by What emerged from the fascinating papers and prisoners of war on board ship or in dock. well-informed debate which followed them was, Our attention then shifted from the past to the first, that private theatricals, so often pushed to present and future of amateur performance. Two the margins of theatre history, constitute a sig- panels addressed ways in which private theatri- nificant feature of the cultural landscape of the cals, historical re-enactments and heritage sites period. Second, that enough people are working might work together. Elaine McGirr enthused in this field now to constitute it as a productive about how, in working towards their production, area of scholarly research. Third, that much work the cast of Nourjahad developed an insight into remains to be done, both in recovering evidence and affection for Elizabeth Craven and her era. of private performance and in interpreting its ar- Speakers were also alert to the possible drawbacks tistic and ideological resonances. of staging the past: Stuart Andrew explored the To build on the success of this event, we are organ- disappointing amateurism of family heritage days. izing a second conference at Royal Holloway, Uni- Jane Milling teased out the theoretical and meth- versity of London, 17-18 June 2011. This event odological difficulties of historic re-enactments: will pursue the subject into the nineteenth cen- the performance might be authentically historical, tury when amateur drama was no longer exclu- but the audience is always in the present. Helen sively the preserve of the social élite. It will also Nicholson urged us to be more alive to the mate- explore further ways of bringing historic houses to rial properties of the physical space we currently life through theatre. occupied – the atmospheric oak-panelled dining room of Chawton House. Two theatre directors,

The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 9 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN 1790s LONDON

Helen Cole is researching the illustration of early eighteenth-century English novels for her PhD, using the collection at Chawton House Library as her principal resource. Here she looks not at fiction but at an il- lustrated account of a later eighteenth-century trial.

My work focuses on fiction in the eighteenth cen- the position of Attorney-General in 1813. Equally tury, but here I’ve decided to dip into other ter- real is the case of ‘the Monster’ – although I can ritory in order to look at some rather different find no evidence that Garrow played any part in illustrated material at Chawton House Library. it. Throughout the period I’m working on, the novel constituted just a tiny fraction of the printed mate- Newspapers in the year 1789 closely followed the rial issuing from English Monster’s activities as he presses; historian James approached a series of Raven estimates that in fashionable young wom- 1770, fiction amounted en in the London streets, to no more than about typically striking up a 4% of total book and conversation with his pamphlet production.1 victim before stabbing If people weren’t reading her with a small knife. novels, what were they Pleasurably alarmed, reading? From a modern the public flocked to the perspective, the answers theatre to see a ‘new mu- can be surprising: we no sical piece’ called The longer share the eight- Monster, or, the Wound- 2 eenth-century thirst for ed Ladies. Countless printed sermons, for in- false reports of assaults stance! But one type of by ‘the Monster’ began reading material entices to appear, and anyone readers now just as it intent on making mis- did then: people are, and chief could simply point always have been, eager the finger at a passer-by: for details of sensational ‘Yesterday evening...a legal trials. gentleman of family and fortune was surrounded If you followed the BBC in Holborn by a number TV series ‘Garrow’s Law’ of Pick-Pockets...who last year, you might re- called out “That is the member the early epi- Monster, he has just cut sodes in which eight- a woman”...till at length eenth-century rookie he was knocked down’.3 barrister William Gar- When a young woman row experiments with called Ann Porter was unorthodox courtroom stabbed outside her strategies. As the pro- home in St James’s in gramme-makers tell it, January 1790, Rhynwick he hones his technique (or Renwick) Williams, a in defence of a man 30-year-old who crafted dubbed ‘the Monster’, artificial flowers for a liv- who has been accused of ing, was identified as the assaulting women on the The portrait of Rhynwick Williams from Chawton’s copy of the report perpetrator and brought streets of London. Gar- of his trial, 1790 to trial. row is a real historical figure whose skill in cross-examination was widely In court, Williams protested mistaken identity and admired in the 1780s and 1790s, and who rose to produced numerous witnesses to corroborate his alibi, but the jury, expertly steered, preferred the evidence of Ann Porter, as well they might: ‘the 1 James Raven, British Fiction, 1750-1770: A Chronologi- cal Check-list of Prose Fiction printed in Britain and 2 Ireland (New Haven: University of Delaware Press, 1987), The World, (London, 8 May 1790), issue 1044 10. 3 The World, (London, 11 May 1790), issue 1046

10 The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 prisoner at the bar has made a wanton, wilful, cru- The engravings work hard to ensure that the el, and inhuman attack upon the most beautiful! reader is in no doubt where his or her sympathies the most innocent! the most lovely! and perhaps should lie, even before the drama of the trial be- I shall not trespass upon the truth, when I say the gins to unfold. In what seems to be an impression best work of nature!’, breathed prosecuting coun- taken from the life in the manner of modern-day sel in his opening address.4 The temperature con- court sketches, Williams is shown corralled behind tinued to rise as Miss a spiked barrier, the Porter’s slashed pink teeth of which are (lit- silk dress and shift erally!) a pointed re- were exhibited to the minder of the vicious gentlemen of the jury, blade he is supposed who then listened as to have wielded. We the doctor who at- are invited to find his tended her testified level gaze and collect- that ‘the blow must ed demeanour chill- have been with great ing: ‘THE MONSTER’, violence; part of the proclaims the caption blow was below the unequivocally, in cap- bow of the stays; if itals. For those of us not, it would probably not caught up in the have pierced even the media frenzy of the abdomen’.5 Williams time, there are nag- was sent to Newgate ging doubts: the slight for six years, convict- figure hedged about ed on three counts of with spikes looks assault, but continu- mild-mannered and ing to protest his in- even dignified. Ann nocence. He then dis- Porter, in contrast, appears from view. is not portrayed in a courtroom setting, as Chawton House Li- if it would be unfeel- brary has a report of ing to fix her forever the trial compiled and in the ordeal of the published in 1790 by witness-box. For a the short-hand writer woman to address the to the Old Bailey. Its public (whether in the fifty-five closely-typed theatre, concert hall pages cost 1s 6d at the or courtroom) was to time. The pamphlet play dangerously with is fronted by two en- cultural mores that gravings, one of the valorised feminine defendant and one of reticence. Instead, Ann Porter. They may Miss Porter’s winsome have been an integral face is presented in part of the published the semblance of a account, but it’s also The portrait of assault victim Ann Porter from Chawton’s report of Williams’s trial painted miniature – possible that they the kind of likeness were sold separately that parents, siblings or lover might keep for pri- as free-standing prints which were then collated vate view, and the antithesis of a public portrait. with the account by its original owner. Ann’s father kept a tavern and ‘cold-bath’ in St James’s, but here she is every inch the fine lady. 4 The Proceedings of the Old Bailey online, www.oldbai- In case we hesitate to draw the ‘correct’ conclu- leyonline.org, reference number t17900708-1. Interest- sion about the respective parties, Miss Porter is ingly, the account given in The Trial at Large of Rhynwick described in a caption that approximates the flow Williams uses exactly the same words but omits the of contemporary script as ‘Miss Ann Porter, who repeated exclamation marks, so that the address by the prosecuting counsel comes across far less dramatically. was so Barbarously treated by the Monster’. 5 Hodgson, The Trial at Large of Rhynwick Williams, 25.

The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011 11 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 4th March – Chawton House Library London tions, children’s house trail & garden trail plus children’s Lecture co-hosted with the University of Notre Dame activities. Refreshments & light lunches available in the Professor Cora Kaplan (Honorary Professor of English, Old Kitchen. Entrance fee: £5 for adults, £3 children. Queen Mary, University of London; Emeritus Professor of Wednesday 20th April - Estate Walk English, University of Southampton). Visit the Shire Horses and take a guided walk through the ‘I am black’: Aesthetics, race and politics in women’s anti- beautiful and historic parkland and gardens of Chawton slavery writing from Hannah More to Elizabeth Barrett House, followed by tea and cake in the Old Kitchen. Stout Browning. footwear required. Tickets: £10. Venue: University of Notre Dame’s London Centre, 1 Suf- folk Street, London SW1Y 4HG. 6.00 pm Reception with Thursday 12th May - Evening Lecture drinks. 7.00 pm Lecture. Free entry, but please reserve Dr Françoise Carter (Independent Scholar) a place by contacting Chawton House Library – details Jane Austen, Dancing and the Marriage Market. below.

7th April – Chawton House Library Evening Lecture All evening lectures begin with a wine reception and Dr Sarah Haggarty (Newcastle University) canapés at 6:30 and the lectures begin at 7 pm. Tickets: William Blake’s Songs. £10.00 (£7.50 for Friends and students). Tickets for 14th April – Chawton House Library Open Day other events may be priced differently. The house and grounds will be open to the public from To book tickets for any of the above events please 10:30 am and last entry will be 4:30 pm. Library exhibi- telephone Corrine Saint on 01420-541010. tion, Hampshire Regency dancers, shire horse demonstra-

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12 The Female Spectator Vol. 15 No. 1 Winter 2011