Charlotte Lennox, ''née'' Ramsay (4 January 1804), was a Scottish author and a literary and cultural critic, whose publishing career flourished in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Best known for her novel '' The Female Quixote'' (1752), she was frequently praised for her genius and literary skill. As a result,

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

painted her portrait and she was featured in " The Nine Living Muses of Great Britain" in 1778.

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

declared her superior to all other female writers, and

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

said that she "excelled

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

." Her pioneering study of Shakespeare's source material is still cited and her magazine (1760–1761) is the focus o
"The Lady's Museum Project."
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Life

Lennox was born in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. Her father, James Ramsay of Dalhousie, was a Scottish

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and her mother Catherine, née Tisdall (died 1765), was Scottish and Irish. She was baptized Barbara Charlotte Ramsay. Very little direct information on her pre-public life is available, and biographers have extrapolated from her first novel such elements as seem semi-autobiographical. Charlotte lived the first ten years of her life in England before her father, who was a lieutenant in the guards, moved the family to Albany, New York in 1738, where he was lieutenant-governor. He died in 1742. Lennox's experiences in the colonies probably inspired her first and last novels, ''Harriot Stuart'' (1750) and ''Euphemia'' (1790). Around the age of 13, she was sent to be a companion to her maternal aunt Mary Lucking in London, but on her arrival she found that the son of her future guardian had died and the arrangement was no longer suitable. Instead, Charlotte's writing seems to have caught the attention of Lady Isabella Finch, who had an extensive library and offered her protection. Lennox's first volume of poetry, ''Poems on Several Occasions'', published in 1747, was dedicated to Lady Isabella and centred partly on themes of female friendship and independence. She might have been offered a position at court, but this was forestalled by her marriage to Alexander Lennox, and her decision to take up acting and to publish her works (and thereby earn her own income). Her husband's only known employment was in the customs office from 1773 to 1782, and this was reported to be as a benefice of the Duke of Newcastle as a reward for his wife. He also claimed to be the proper heir to the Earl of Lennox in 1768, but the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

rejected his claims, possibly on the basis of bastardy. Charlotte mentioned his "birth misfortunes" in a letter. In 1746, after turning away from a life of aristocratic patronage, seventeen-year-old Lennox took on a public role for the first time. She performed in a successful run of ''The Fair Penitent,'' which was part of a series of "civic" dramas at Drury Lane dealing with social issues of politics and gender. After the publication of her first poems, ''Poems on Several Occasions'' (1747), she began to shift away from acting towards writing. However, she did perform at Richmond in 1748 and received a benefit night at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

in a production of ''The Mourning Bride'' in 1750. In the latter year, she also published her most successful poem, "The Art of Coquetry" in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

.'' She met Samuel Johnson around that time, and he held her in high regard. When her first novel, ''The Life of Harriot Stuart, Written by Herself'', appeared, Johnson threw a lavish party for Lennox, with a laurel wreath and an apple pie that contained

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay lea ...

. Johnson thought her superior to his other female literary friends, Elizabeth Carter,

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at ...

, and

Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post of "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Meckle ...

, due to her efforts to professionalize her writing career, rather than write anonymously. He ensured that Lennox was introduced to important members on the London literary scene. However, some of the women of Johnson's circle were not fond of Lennox.

Hester Thrale Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (née Salusbury; 27 January 1741 or 16 January 1740 – 2 May 1821)Contemporary records, which used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating years, recorded her birth as 16 January 1740. The pro ...

, Elizabeth Carter, and Lady

Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English people, English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, medical pioneer, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Ma ...

, all members of the Bluestocking Society, faulted her either for her housekeeping (which even Lennox joked about), for her ostensibly unpleasant personality, or for her bad temper. They saw her specifically as an incendiary.

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...

and

both favourably reviewed Lennox's second, most successful novel, ''The Female Quixote, or, The Adventures of Arabella'' (1752).

praised it in his ''Covent Garden Journal'' and it gained popularity. It was reprinted and packaged in a series of great novels in 1783, 1799, and 1810, and translated into German in 1754, French in 1773 and 1801, and Spanish in 1808. The novel formally inverts ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'': as the Don mistakes himself for the knightly hero of a romance. Arabella, also informed by earnest reading, mistakes herself for the maiden love of a romance. While the Don thinks it his duty to praise the platonically pure damsels he meets (such as the farm girl he loves), so Arabella believes it is in her power to kill with a look and that her lovers have a duty to suffer ordeals on her behalf. Some of Lennox's other works were advertised as being by "the author of ''The Female Quixote''". The translator/censor of the Spanish version, Lt-Col. Don Bernardo María de Calzada, appropriated the text, stating "written in English by an unknown author and in Spanish by D. Bernardo," even though he was not fluent in English and had only translated into Spanish a previous French translation, which was already censored. In the preface, de Calzada also warns the reader of the questionable quality of the text, as good British texts were only written by "Fyelding" and Richardson, the two authors of international fame. Lennox cultivated friendships that assisted her in her publishing efforts. For her translation of ''The Greek Theatre of Father Brumoy'', the most influential French study of Greek tragedy in the mid-18th century, she found several learned men to contribute. In 1755 she translated ''Memoirs of Maximilian de Bethune, Duke of Sully'', which sold well. Learning several languages, including Italian from Joseph Baretti, Lennox studied the sources for

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's plays. In 1753, the first two volumes of ''Shakespear Illustrated'' – seen by many scholars as the first feminist work of literary criticism – were published by Andrew Millar. The third volume, which appeared in 1754, spoke to its success. Lennox studied and discussed how Shakespeare used his sources and was especially attentive to the romance tradition on which Shakespeare drew. One criticism Lennox had was that his plays strip female characters of their original authority, "taking from them the power and the moral independence which the old romances and novels had given them." Samuel Johnson wrote the dedication for ''Shakespear Illustrated,'' but others criticized its treatment, in David Garrick's words, by "so great and so Excellent an Author." and the literary world took its revenge upon the presentation of her play, '' The Sister (1769),'' based on her third novel, ''Henrietta'' (1758)''.'' Several groups of attendees concerted to boo the play off the stage on its opening night, though it went on to be printed in several editions. ''Henrietta'' sold well, but did not bring her any money. From 1760 to 1761 she edited and wrote for the

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

'' The Lady's Museum,'' which included her novel ''Harriot and Sophia'' (later ''Sophia),'' known as one of two of the earliest serialized novels (along with Tobias Smollett's ''The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves''). Lennox called this magazine "a course in female education" and included the learned subjects botany, history, astronomy, medicine, literary criticism, zoology, and theology.

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

produced her ''Old City Manners'' at

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

in 1775 (an adaptation of

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's '' Eastward Ho''). The play saw at least nine performances over two seasons, favourable reviews, and publication. Lennox was described as "a Lady well known as a favourite attendant in the train of the muses." Finally, in 1790, Lennox published ''Euphemia'' with little success, as the public's interest in novels of romance seemed to have waned. ''Euphemia'' is an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...

set in New York before the American Revolution and describes relationships between Native Americans and the British, primarily Mohawks and Hurons. Lennox had two children who survived infancy: Harriot Holles Lennox (1765–1782/3) and George Lewis Lennox (born 1771), who emigrated to America in 1793. In that same year, she and her husband, with whom she had been estranged for many years, separated. Charlotte then lived in "solitary penury" for the rest of her life, relying on support from the Literary Fund. She died on 4 January 1804 in London and was buried in an unmarked grave not far from "Dean's yard, Westminster," the area of London currently called St. John's Gardens. During the 19th century, ''The Female Quixote'' remained moderately popular. In the 20th century,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

scholars such as

Janet Todd Janet Margaret Todd (born 10 September 1942) is a British academic and author. She was educated at Cambridge University and the University of Florida, where she undertook a doctorate on the poet John Clare. Much of her work concerns Mary Wol ...

, Jane Spencer, and Nancy Armstrong praised Lennox's skill and inventiveness. Five of Lennox's six novels have been published in a modern edition. ''The Female Quixote'' has been chosen for the 2024 Aggregation exam to certify English teachers in France.

Works

Poetry

*''Poems on Several Occasions'' ( 1747) *''The Art of Coquetry'' ( 1750) *''Birthday Ode to the Princess of Wales''

Novels

*'' The Life of Harriot Stuart'' (1751) *'' The Female Quixote'' (1752) *'' Henrietta'' (1758) *'' Sophia'' (1762) *''Eliza'' (1766) *'' Euphemia'' (1790) *'' Hermione'' (1791)

Plays

*''Philander'' (1758) *'' The Sister'' (1769) *''Old City Manners'' (1775)

Literary criticism

*''Shakespear icIllustrated'' (1753–1754)

Periodical

*'' The Lady's Museum'' (1760–1761)

Translations

*1756: ''Memoirs of Maximilian de Bethune, Duke of Sully'' *1756: ''The Memoirs of the Countess of Berci'' *1757: ''Memoirs for the History of Madame de Maintenon and of the Last Age'' *1759: ''The Greek Theatre of Father Brumoy'' *1774: ''Meditations and Penitential Prayers by the Duchess de la Valière''