Ann Hatton
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Ann Julia Hatton (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Kemble, published as Ann of Swansea; 29 April 1764 – 26 December 1838), was a popular novelist in Britain in the early 19th century and author of ''
Tammany Tamanend ("the Affable"; ), historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenape, Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the founding peace t ...
'', the first known
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by a woman.


Biography

Ann Hatton was born in Worcester, the daughter of strolling player Roger Kemble. She was the sister of the actors
Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known Tragedy, tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder siste ...
and John Philip Kemble. Other members of the Kemble family were also actors. Ann was apprenticed to a
mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
maker before going on the stage. In 1783, at the age of nineteen, she married an actor, C. Curtis, but soon found out that he was already married. Ann was left in such straits financially that in that year she appealed for relief from the public in a newspaper advertisement, and even attempted suicide in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. To survive she earned her living as a "model" in a notorious London
bagnio Bagnio is a loan word into several languages (from ). In English, French, and so on, it has developed varying meanings: typically a brothel, bath-house, or prison for slaves. In reference to the Ottoman Empire The origin of this sense seems to ...
, or
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
. It was in such a house that she was accidentally shot in the face. This was reported in local newspapers, which mention her " immoral avocation", but also her "proud and strong mind." In 1792 Ann married William Hatton, and a year later the couple sailed to America. In 1794 Ann Hatton's tremendously popular ''
Tammany Tamanend ("the Affable"; ), historically also known as Taminent, Tammany, Saint Tammany or King Tammany, was the Chief of Chiefs and Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenape, Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley signing the founding peace t ...
: The Indian Chief'' was given its première on Broadway. This was the first known
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
by a woman, and the first major opera libretto written in the United States on an American theme. By 1799 Ann and William had returned to Britain, and settled at
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
in south Wales; where they ran a bathing-house and lodgings near the seashore until William's death in 1806. From 1806 to 1809 Ann kept a dancing school in
Kidwelly Kidwelly () is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...
, but from 1809 onwards spent the remainder of her life in Swansea and became a well-known writer. Between 1810 and 1831 she wrote poetry, and fourteen novels featuring gothic themes for Minerva Press, using the pseudonym of "Ann of Swansea". Ann's mixing precariously with various classes and suffering times of poverty gave her the insight of living through, as well as seeing, the social ills of her times. Her work responded to the popular taste of the time for
gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...
, social satire, and stories of moral progress, with stereotypical women as her characters: nuns are gothic, wives harangue, mothers are fussy, and old maids bad-tempered. A portrait of Ann in 1835 (at the age of 71) by William Watkeys is held in Swansea Museum. She died in
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
.


Works


''Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects'' (1783) (under name Ann Curtis)
* ''Cambrian Pictures'' (1810) (first novel, under the name Ann of Swansea) * ''Poetic Trifles'' (1811) * ''Sicilian Mysteries'' (1812) * "Conviction, or Is She Innocent" (1814) * "Secret Avengers" (1815) * ''Chronicles of an Illustrious House, or The Peer, the Lawyer and the Hunchback'' (1816) * "Gonzalo de Baldivia" (1817) * "Secrets in Every Mansion" (1818) * "Cesario Rosalba, or The Oath of Vengeance" (1819) * '' Lovers and Friends'' (1821) Chawton House has
PDF
of ''Lovers and Friends''.

''Guilty or Not Guilty, or A Lesson for Husbands'' (1822)
* "Woman's A Riddle" (1824) * "Deeds of an Olden Time" (1826) * "Uncle Peregrine's Heiress" (1828) * "Gerald Fitzgerald, or An Irish Tale" (1831).


See also

* List of Minerva Press authors * Minerva Press


External links


Literary Heritage – West Midlands


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatton, Ann 1764 births 1838 deaths English women novelists Writers from Worcester, England 19th-century English women writers Kemble family 19th-century English novelists