Madwoman in the Attic #8 Anne Burke

Anne Burke was an Irish writer of Gothic novels. She was one of the first women to write in the Gothic genre. Anne Burke was a governess who after she was left widowed with a young son turned to writing to earn money, although she applied on several occasions to the Royal Literary Fund for relief. Anne Burke's books inspired Anne Radcliffe who was one of the most successful of the Gothic novelists. Anne Burke is considered to be part of the group of key Irish authors who popularised and developed the Gothic style of writing in the late Eighteenth Century and afterwards including Regina Maria Roche and Sydney Owenson
List of works
Ela or The Delusions of the Heart 1787
Emilia de St Aubigne 1788
Adela Northington 1796
The Sorrows of Edith 1796
Elliott or Vicissitudes of Early Life 1800
The Secret Of the Cavern 1805

Madwoman in the Attic #7 Elizabeth Dorothea Cobbe

Elizabeth Lady Tuite was born in Dublin in 1764, the daughter of Colonel Thomas Cobbe and Lady Eliza Beresford. She married Sir Henry Tuite the 8th Baronet in November 1784. She was a poet and a writer for children. She was the great aunt of Frances Power Cobbe and was said to have been a great influence on her. Lady Tuite's husband died in 1805 and she spent much of the rest of her life living in Bath. Lady Tuite's poetry was considered to be in the romantic style. She was one of the set who attended the literary salon of Elizabeth Rawdon; Countess of Moira who was also a relative. Her poetry was included in an anthology "What Sappho would have Said " by Emma Donoghue. She died in 1850.
Further information can be found in A Dictionary of British and American Women Writers 1660-1800 by Janet Todd and The Cambridge Companion to women's Writing in the Romantic Period by Devoney Looser. 

Celebrating 200 years of Jane Austen

The 18th July this year will be the two hundredth anniversary of the death of a literary icon. Creator of some of the most memorable characters in English fiction, Jane Austen was a master storyteller. There will be celebrations among Janeites all year and all over the world but this weekend sees a celebration commence closer to home, in Limerick in Ireland which will continue until December. I am including the full press release below.

JANE AUSTEN200 - LIMERICK

CONTACT: ROSE SERVITOVA

EMAIL: roseservitova@gmail.com

WEBSITE: www.facebook.com/janeausten200limerick

A SERIES OF EVENTS FROM JULY TO DECEMBER 2017 CELEBRATING JANE AUSTEN’S BICENTENARY & LIMERICK’S GEORGIAN HERITAGE

July 16th Austen Afternoon Tea & Talks at No. 1 Perry Square sold out. This event included an introduction to the select teas for the event provided by local tea-merchants, Cahills of Limerick. Serving of Afternoon Tea delights. Historian, Sharon Slater, gives a talk 'Tom LeFroy - Jane's Limerick Beau'."A few words about tea from Emma's friend, Miss Bates of Hampstead" performed by Vanessa Hyde. Presentation and talk from Sinead Ryan Coughlan of the Irish Historical Costumers on Regency Fashion (with model, Sinead Finegan). Melissa Shiels will sing two Irish airs that were found amongst Jane Austen’s music collection.

Other events include;

Culture Night, September 22nd(8pm) at Friarsgate Theatre, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick – a free workshop Historical Costumer & Workshop Presenter, Melissa Shiels, will give a very entertaining and informative talk entitle “Georgian Clothing, Customs and Material Culture”. Melissa will have many examples and recreations at hand for what promises to be a great evening.

September 23rd (2pm) at No.1 Pery Square – Austen Afternoon Tea & Talks – Speakers include editor & journalist, Tim Bullamore on “The Joy of Jane”, Kim Arnold presents a talk “Obstinate Headstrong Girl!: Maxims & Manners in the novels of Jane Austen” and we will have a presentation of men's fashion in the late 18th and early 19th century by the Irish Historical Costumers all accompanied by delicious afternoon tea treats and an occasional song. Attendees will also receive a customised keepsake.

October 5th sees two events facilitated by world-renowned period costume designer and Limerick woman, Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh. Eimer worked as costume designer for “Becoming Jane”, “Love & Friendship”, “Brideshead Revisited” and “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” amongst many others. Eimer will visit her former college, The Limerick School of Art & Design, to present an informative talk to students on working in theatre and film. That evening, at a public event, Eimer is guest at “An Evening with Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh” at the intimate drawing rooms of No. 1 Pery Square (7pm). Here she will have some of the costumes from “Love & Friendship” and partake of a Q&A session.

October 23rd 7.30pm– Oscar-nominated movie director and screenwriter, Whit Stillman will join us for a screening of Austen adaptation, the comedy “Love & Friendship” at the University Concert Hall, Limerick. Niall MacMonagle will host a Q&A session with Whit Stillman directly after the screening.

November 3rd (Friarsgate Theatre, Kilmallock) & November 9th (Belltable, Limerick) host New Zealand woman Penny Ashton’s world tour of “Promise & Promiscuity” in a humourous show as she tackles all of Austen's characters with song, dance and appalling cross-stitching. 

Other events include;

• a talk by Sandra Lefroy on family connections to Austen and William Wordsworth hosted by the Limerick Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society.
• a collaboration between Sound Heritage Ireland and the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance which will see a musical event of the era re-enacted in a Georgian setting.

For further details please check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/janeausten200limerick where links to events/tickets/websites will be available once finalised.

The curator of Jane Austen 200 is Rose Servitova the author of the Longbourn Letters and I asked Rose to tell me about why Jane Austen is such a big influence, why she decided to write a Pride and Prejudice inspired novel and why she felt that Limerick was the perfect place to celebrate 20o years of Jane. This is what she said.

How Jane Austen Inspired Me?

It was at my grandmother’s house on the foothills of the Ox Mountains in Sligo, during summer holidays, that I discovered my love of reading and there, I found all the classics including the works of Jane Austen. I fell in love with her writing and it has stayed with me since. For years, Pride & Prejudice was my comfort blanket - the book I went back to time and again whenever my life sucked for some reason or other. It was like being held, rocked and soothed. The familiar never bored me instead I sought it out whenever the bottom was falling out of my world and it held me together.

For at least ten years, the idea of writing some kind of tribute to Pride & Prejudice had crossed my mind but I had absolutely no idea what to write. Occasionally, Mr Collin’s diary sprung to mind and when I eventually sat down last year and commenced writing, I knew immediately that it would be disastrous. How could anyone read more than a few pages of his self-importance, deluded gibberish? Instantly, the solution came to me in the form of my other favourite character, Mr Bennet. Four letters existed between these two men in Pride & Prejudice so I would merely have to fill in the gaps and continue until it reached a natural conclusion. They contrasted with each other perfectly and gave me the opportunity to write some great dialogue and witty interaction. That is how The Longbourn Letters came about.  I laughed so much when writing it and I hoped that others would too. Because I love Austen so much and find her minor characters so brilliantly drawn, there was no need for me to go off-track but to stay loyal to her portrayal and hopefully add a bit more detail. Her clever, witty dialogue has influenced my writing greatly – it is what I seek out in other novels and hope to emulate in my own.

How I got involved in Jane Austen 200 – Limerick

Before The Longbourn Letters was published, I began connecting with Jane Austen fans and groups all over the world. I was amazed to see how many were organising celebrations for her bicentenary and, in particular, I was amazed that cities that did not exist 200 years ago were having dances, plays, talks etc… I thought ‘well done, guys’. I always felt that Limerick was a perfect spot to host a Georgian festival as we have the largest Georgian quarter outside of Dublin but when I looked into the Jane Austen angle, I found that we also had many connections with the author. As a qualified event manager and without wanting the bicentenary to pass unacknowledged, I decided to organise an afternoon tea and talks event to mark the occasion. A number of weeks later, I found myself curating a whole series of events running from July to December that include theatre, fashion, music, dance, literature, screen, talks/workshops and tea!! It’s great to see that other parts of the country are doing likewise with events  being held in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Longbourn-Letters-Correspondence-between-Collins/dp/1911013750/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1499774930&sr=1-1

Rose's book continues the story of the Bennets of Longbourn and Mr and Mrs Collins of Rosings through the letters between the two cousins; the taciturn Mr Bennet and the silly Mr Collins. It is a fitting and joyful response to the original. The perfect book to read this weekend as we celebrate Jane Austen and her legacy.

The Irish Women writing YA Fiction and Making it their own

I wrote a piece which Children's Books Ireland kindly featured on their website, on the fantastic Irish Women who are writing Young Adult fiction. And as Louise O'Neill moves to riverrun the new upmarket crime imprint of Quercus Publishing, I mused who might take her place on the awards and bestseller lists. There is certainly no shortage of talented women to add to your reading lists. This article has been shared quite a bit on facebook and twitter so I  am delighted if it spreads the word. You can see it at the link below.

http://childrensbooksireland.ie/features/21950

Madwoman in the Attic #5 Marguerite Power, Countess of Blessington

Marguerite Power was born at Knockbrit, Clonmel, Co Tipperary in 1789. She was the daughter of Ellen Sheehy and Edmund Power who owned a small amount of land. According to her first biographer her father known as 'Buck' Power was a gambler and drinker and Maguerite had an unhappy childhood as the family were constantly in debt. Her father traded Marguerite in payment for gambling debts to Captain Maurice St Leger Farmer, so at 15 Marguerite went from unhappy child to unhappy bride. Her husband starved, beat and imprisoned his wife. The law at the time would offer her no protection and Marguerite's only option was to separate from her husband. When he was posted to India by the army she refused to go with him and instead  moved to London. She was immediately a cause for scandal as she was a 'separated woman' but still a teenager. However her good looks and sparking wit made her extremely popular as a society hostess. Marguerite began an affair with Charles John Gardiner, First Earl of Blessington while both of them were still married but his wife died in 1814 and Farmer died in debtor's prison in 1817 so the pair married in 1818. Blessington was a wealthy and indulgent husband and Marguerite was generous to a fault insisting on helping out a number of relatives in Ireland and England. In 1822 the Blessingtons set out on a Grand Tour. Marguerite was well known in literary circles and struck up a friendship with Byron at Genoa. She later wrote Conversations with Lord Byron. (1834) At Naples she met Irish writer Richard Robert Madden who later wrote her biography (1855). While they were travelling on the continent John invited the dashing Count D'Orsay who had been part of their London circle to join them. With all of them living together and indulging in a life of extravagance it was probably inevitable that D'Orsay and Marguerite began an affair but with a young and healthy husband Marguerite knew that it could be years before they could be together so she devised a plan. She persuaded her husband to arrange a match between his daughter Harriet from his first marriage to D'Orsay so that they could continue to spend time together without any gossip. Ironically just a few months after the marriage in 1829 Blessington suffered a sudden stroke and died  in Paris. He left Marguerite plenty of money, jewels and estates and she establishment her household back in London persuading D'Orsay and Harriet to live with her, after just three years though Harriet walked out exposing her husband and step mother to scandal. Typically D'Orsay was accepted quickly back into society but Marguerite was not. Marguerite turned to writing to support herself and her literary salons were revived. Her home Gore House is now the site of the Albert Hall and writers who visited her included Charles Dickens and Benjamin Disraeli. Marguerite wrote novels; The Repealers or Grace Cassidy (1834), The Governess (1839),  Strathern (1845), The Fatal Error (1847) and travel books The Idler in France (1839) The Idler in Italy (1841) as well as contributing to newspapers and periodicals, she was one of the first writers to have her work serialised in The Sunday Times. Astute in her own business dealings but not in her private life Marguerite and D'Orsay had to leave London to escape their creditors in 1849. Just a few weeks later Marguerite was dead, like her husband before her she suffered a massive stroke in Paris. She is buried at St Germain. 

Madwomen in the Attic #3 Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) was born on December 25th in Dublin in the early 1780s. She was always rather elusive about the exact year of her birth. Her father was actor-manager Robert Mac Owen who changed his name to Owenson. although he was Irish, Owenson spent much of his youth in London and so he met and married an English girl Jane Hill before the two travelled to Dublin to settle permanently. Robert Owenson set up a theatrical company in Dublin and Sydney and her sister Olivia spent a great deal of time there. Sydney was mostly educated at home with her sister, they lived on Dame Street in her early childhood but after her mother's death in 1789 her and her sister were sent to private schools around Dublin and then moved to Sligo were their father was working as an actor. There was some financial problems for the family and when Sydney was in her teens she had to accept work as a governess with the Featherstone family of Bracklyn Castle. Sydney blossomed at this point as she had an opportunity to show off her skills; she could sing, dance and play the harp. It was there that Sydney began to write. She published a volume of poetry and a collection of verses for Irish melodies in the early 1800s. She then decided to write a novel, she was an admirer of Fanny Burney and she published St Clair (1804) and The Novice of St Dominick (1806) with much success. It was her third novel however The Wild Irish Girl (1806)  which made her a household name. This book displayed Sydney's passion for Ireland and her patriotic fervour. She used her celebrity to extoll the virtues of Ireland's traditions and history. The Missionary; An Indian Tale followed and numbered Percy Bysshe Shelley amongst its admirers. She also wrote an opera and some proposals on Women's education. Sydney joined the household of John Hamilton 1st Marquess Abercorn and married the family's surgeon Sir Thomas Charles Morgan in 1812. O'Donnell (1814) is widely considered her best work and was praised by Sir Walter Scott. Books on France and Italy were praised by Byron for their authenticity but harshly reviewed elsewhere. Sydney was adept at capturing the ordinary life of the poor and she returned to examining Irish life with Absenteeism (1825) and The O'Briens and The O'Flahertys(1827).
Sydney was awarded a pension by Lord Melbourne for her services to literature, the first women ever to receive such an award. She again asserted her feminist views in Woman and her Master (1840). She began work on her memoirs with Geraldine Jewsbury but they were unfinished at her death in 1859. In 1839 the Morgan's moved to London and Sydney was buried in Brompton Cemetery.
A prolific writer, as well as novels, poetry and non fiction she produced numerous tracts and pamphlets.
A lively and entertaining member of numerous literary circles she was never afraid to poke fun and many of those who reviewed her harshly were caricatured in her fiction.
There is a bust of Sydney in The Victoria and Albert Museum and there is a plaque on Kildare Street in Dublin marking one of her homes.

Herstory

Herstory is a cultural movement aiming to bring into the public focus amazing Irish women from the past; scientists, writers, artists, activists, sportswomen, rebels and much more to rescue them from the dusty forgotten corners and restore them to the forefront of history where they belong. The mission of all involved is that no longer will people say "I've never heard of her." You can find out more about this project at the herstory website and you too can get involved. There will be events all over the country and the project will tour internationally in 2018.    http://www.herstory.ie/

I am interested in learning more about the pioneering women writers of Ireland and so I have planned a project of my own to rediscover the female Irish writers from the past with a new blog post each week.  I aim to collect a whole series of Madwomen in the Attic.