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 Jane Bowdler (1743–1784) was an English poet and essayist. Her work gained half a century's popularity after her death. Family Jane was born 14 February 1743, the eldest daughter of Thomas Bowdler of Bath, Somerset (1706–1785) and his wife ...

John Bowdler John Bowdler (1746–1823) was a campaigner for moral reform in Britain and a founder of the Church Building Society. His brother and sister were the editors of the expurgated ''Family Shakspeare''. Early life He was born at Bath, Somerset on 18 ...

, Henrietta Maria Bowdler, and

Thomas Bowdler Thomas Bowdler, LRCP, FRS (; 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. Th ...

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

bowdlerize Expurgation, also known as 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 a pejorative term for the practi ...

" 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 is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book o ...

, 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 The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

.'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 Women religious writers