Frances Dorothy Cartwright (1780–1863) was an English poet and biographer.Rosemary Mitchell
Cartwright, Frances Dorothy (1780–1863)
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 29 July 2013.

Life

Frances Cartwright was the youngest child of the Rev.

Edmund Cartwright Edmund Cartwright (24 April 174330 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a politic ...

, inventor of the power-loom, by his first wife, Alice Whitaker. She was born 28 October 1780 at Marnham,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Goadby Marwood Goadby Marwood is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Eaton, in the Melton district, in the north of the English county of Leicestershire. It is about north of Melton Mowbray and a few miles from the Vale of Belvoir. In 1 ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. Her sister Elizabeth, under the pseudonym Mrs Markham, wrote ''A History of England'' ; another sister, Mary Strickland, wrote a biography of their father in 1843; and their brother Edmund, who became a clergyman, wrote a ''Parochial Topography of the Rape of Bramber'' (1830). ("Rape" here is an obscure word meaning a county subdivision; that of Bamber centres on the

River Adur The Adur () is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river, which is long, was once navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large Saxon port, but by the 11th centur ...

.) Frances's mother died on 12 September 1785, and after her father married again she was adopted by her uncle, the reforming politician John Cartwright, and sent to school at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, to the west of London. She started writing small poems in 1802. In 1823, influenced by Spanish activists against

King Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

who had been hosted by her uncle (see

Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...

), she learnt

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and translated a few of

Rafael del Riego Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician who played a key role in the establishment of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish). The failure of the Cádiz army to se ...

's poems into English. On the death of her uncle in 1824 she prepared her first published work, ''The Life and Correspondence of Major Cartwright'', published in 1826. An uncritical account, it had no competitors until 1972.J. W. Osborne, ''John Cartwright'', 1972. She retired with Major Cartwright's widow to live at

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, and published her poems there anonymously, in a little volume, ''Poems, chiefly Devotional'', dated 13 November 1835. Her translations of Riego's poems appeared, with her initials, in the poet's ''Obras Póstumas Poéticas'' (1844). She died at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

on 13 January 1863, aged 83. References cited by Humphrey: Frances Cartwright's ''Life'' of her uncle, i. 163, 405, 408-12, ii. 163, 243, 245, 279. 301: her ''Poems'', 18, 21-6. 41, 47, 48. 50; ''El Romancero'' and ''Obras Póstumas Poéticas'' of E. A. del Riego y Nuñez and R. del Riogo y Nuñez, on coloured leaves, not paged; ''Brighton Examiner'', 20 January 1863.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Frances Dorothy 1780 births 1863 deaths 19th-century English writers English women poets English biographers 19th-century English women writers English women non-fiction writers English women biographers