Elizabeth Stuart Bowdler ée Cotton(d. 1797) was an English religious writer.

Family

Elizabeth Stuart Cotton was the second daughter of Sir John Cotton, 6th Baronet (d. 1752). She married Thomas Bowdler (bap. 1719, d. 1785) in 1742 and among the couple's five children were four who also became religious writers: Jane Bowdler, John Bowdler,

Henrietta Maria Bowdler Henrietta Maria Bowdler (1750–1830), commonly called Mrs. Harriet Bowdler, was an English religious author and literary expurgator, notably of the works of William Shakespeare. Family Bowdler was born in Conington, Huntingdonshire, the daught ...

, and

Thomas Bowdler Thomas Bowdler (; 11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) was an English physician known for publishing '' The Family Shakespeare'', an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's plays edited by his sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler. The two sought ...

. It is after her son Thomas, the editor of ''The Family Shakspeare'', that the term "

bowdlerize An expurgation of a work, also known as a bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is often used in th ...

" is named.

Writing

She was the author of ''Practical Observations on the Revelation of St John'', that is, the section of the Bible known as the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

, which was published anonymously in 1787. It was re-issued after her death, in 1800, as Practical Observations on the Revelation of St John'', by the Late Mrs Bowdler'. In a new preface written to accompany the text, the editor wrote that Bowdler's book had appeared to prophesy the French Revolution.'Preface', in ''Practical Observations on the Revelation of St John'', by the Late Mrs Bowdler (Bath: Crutwell, 1800), pp. v–xii.

Bibliography

* ''Practical Observations on the Revelation of St John'' (published anonymously, 1787; re-published with a new preface, Bath: Crutwell, 1800).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdler, Elizabeth Stuart 1797 deaths 18th-century English writers 18th-century English women writers English religious writers English women religious writers