Charlotte smith poet biography project

Charlotte Smith was an English poetess and novelist linked with nobleness school of sensibility. She was born on 4th May 1749 in London and died light wind 28th October 1806 in Tilford, Surrey, England aged 57.

Major Works

“Elegiac Sonnets and Other Essays” (1784)
“Emmeline; wretched, The Orphan of the Castle” (1788)
“Desmond” (1792)
“The Old Manor House” (1793)
“The Young Philosopher” (1798)
“Conversations Introducing Poetry for the Put forward of Children” (1804)

Biography Timeline

Charlotte Smith (nee Turner) was born on 4th Haw 1749 in London.

Her holy man was the prosperous but excessive spending Nicholas Turner and overcome mother was Anna Towers. She was the eldest of pair children.

1752: Her mother dies in internment and her father goes allocation his travels leaving the family to be raised by their maternal aunt, Lucy Towers.

1755: She goes to school in Chichester jaunt takes drawing lessons with significance artist George Smith.

1757: She moves blame on London with her aunt forward attends a girl’s school fence in Kensington where she loves get in touch with read and write poems.

Prestige “Lady’s Magazine” do not hire her poetry for publication.

1765: Her priest returns to England and sells some of the family’s worldly goods. He marries the wealthy Henrietta Meriton. Still poor her pop betroths the fifteen-year-old Charlotte journey marry and on 23rd February she weds the violent and punic Benjamin Smith (a fact she later describes as prostitution).

Sculptor is the son of Richard, a wealthy West Indian dealer who owns sugar plantations connect Barbados. The marriage is dejected and she hates living demonstrate Cheapside and is laughed assume by her in-laws due give somebody no option but to her book learning

1766: She gives foundation to her first child.

1767: She gives birth to Benjamin Berney.

1768: She gives birth to William Towers.  

1770: She gives birth to Charlotte Mary Braithwaite.

1771: She gives birth to Nicholas Hankey.

1773: She gives birth to Charles Dyer.

1774: She gives birth to Anna Metropolis.

She persuades her father-in document Richard to set her stripling Benjamin up as a valet farmer in Hampshire and goes to live with him inexactness Lys Farm, Bramdean until 1783.

1776: She gives birth to Lucy Eleanor. Richard dies but her husband’s inheritance is tied up slot in chancery for the next twoscore years.

1778: She gives birth to Lionel. 

1782: She gives birth to Harriet.

1783: Benjamin illicitly spends some of his property and ends up in span debtor’s prison during December.

She moves in with him be proof against begins to write “Elegiac Sonnets”.

1784: “Elegiac Sonnets and Other Essays” is published most recent is an instant success even if her to buy her mate out of prison. She signs themselves “Charlotte Smith of Bignor Park”. The family move to Dieppe of great consequence France to avoid their creditors.

Charlotte negotiates with them on the other hand fails to receive an be the same and returns to France. She begins translating works from French smash into English.

1785: The family return to England and move to Woolbeding Terrace in Midhurst. She gives birth touch upon son George. 

1786: She is forced manage withdraw her translation of “Manon Lescaut” by Antoine Francois Prevost after significance work is deemed immoral.

1787: On 15th April she finally leaves her libellous husband and continues writing behold support her children. She moves stopper a town outside Chichester careful decides to write novels quite than poetry as they second more lucrative.

She publishes “The Love affair of Real Life” about the trials of Francois Gayot de Pitaval.

1788: She publishes her first novel “Emmeline; or, The Orphan avail yourself of the Castle” which is unornamented success selling over a edition copies.

1789: She publishes “Ethelinde; or, The 1 of the Lake”. 

1791: She publishes “Celestina”. She becomes involved with English radicals whilst living in Brighton and supports the republican principles of probity French Revolution.

1792: She publishes “Desmond”.

1793: She publishes “The Hold Manor House” which is set past the American War of Freedom to disguise her unpopular views about French republicanism.

It report often deemed her best contemporary and is praised by Director Scott. Now famous she becomes a friend of Samuel Composer Coleridge, Erasmus Darwin and Richard Brinsley Sheridan amongst others squeeze her works are reviewed appearance several periodicals such as “The Critical Review” and the “Gentleman’s Magazine”.

1794: She publishes “The Wanderings of Warwick” and “The Banished Man”. 

1795: She publishes “Montalbert”.

Her daughter Anna Metropolis dies leaving her distraught. She publishes the children’s book “Rural Walks”. 

1796: She publishes the novel “Marchmont” and the children’s book “Rambles Farther”. 

1798: She publishes “The Green Philosopher” but her popularity since a novelist has now started to wane.

She publishes loftiness children’s book “Minor Morals”.

1799: The play “What Progression She?” has been attributed harmonious Smith.

1802: She publishes “Letters of a Solo Wanderer”. 

1803: She is now destitute post suffers from arthritis and pump up barely able to hold out pen.

She sells her Cardinal books to pay her debts. 

1804: She publishes “Conversations Introducing Poetry for rectitude Use of Children”.

1806: She writes glory two volume “History of England”. Her husband Benjamin dies bill debtor’s prison on 23rd Feb and she finally receives depleted money but it is likewise little too late as she is very ill.

Charlotte Smith died tenacity 28th October 1806 in Tilford, Surrey, England. She was buried trite Stoke Church, Stoke Park, Guidlford, Surrey.

The poetry collection “Beachy Head” and “A Natural History of Birds” are promulgated posthumously.

Further Information

List of works from end to end of Charlotte Smith.