Jane Pope (1744 – 30 July 1818) was an English actress.

Life

Pope was the daughter William and Susanna Pope. Her father was a London theatrical wig-maker for the

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 ...

. (There has been confusion over her date of birth with different authorities giving 1742 and 1744, but in a letter from Jane Pope of 1808 she states her age as 64.) Pope had three brothers and she spent her life living with her sister who was named after their mother. Neither of them married. As a child Pope and her brother were recruited as child extras for a Lilliputian production for Garrick in 1756. From this she speedily developed into

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

roles. Pope had a dispute with Garrick over whether she was worth eight or ten pounds a week. She left his company but returned when he offered to reemploy her and Pope agreed to eight pounds. She was Mrs Candour in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'' at its first presentation (1777). There is a painting of Jane Pope by James Roberts in the role of Mrs Page in the

Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

. She played Mrs Page at Drury Lane in several performances in February to April 1778. Pope was a lifelong friend of Mrs Clive, and erected the monument at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

to the latter's memory. She retired from the professional stage at a special performance at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

on 26 May 1808. She was an admirable actress and was praised by all the literary critics of her day unused to such a combination.

Selected roles

* Lady Flutter in '' The Discovery'' by Frances Sheridan (1763) * Miss Sterling in

The Clandestine Marriage ''The Clandestine Marriage'' is a comedy by George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, first performed in 1766 at Drury Lane. It is both a comedy of manners and a comedy of errors. The idea came from a series of pictures by William Hogarth entit ...

by David Garrick,

George Colman the Elder George Colman (April 1732 – 14 August 1794) was an English dramatist and essayist, usually called "the Elder", and sometimes "George the First", to distinguish him from his son, George Colman the Younger. He also owned a theatre. Early life H ...

(1766) * Patty in '' The Maid of Kent'' by

Francis Godolphin Waldron Francis Godolphin Waldron (1744–1818) was an English writer and actor, known also as an editor and bookseller. Life Waldron became a member of David Garrick's company at Drury Lane, and is heard of on 21 October 1769, when he played a part i ...

(1773) * Lucy in '' The Choleric Man'' by

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) Richard Cumberland (15 July 1631 (or 1632) – 9 October 1718) was an English philosopher, and Bishop of Peterborough from 1691. In 1672, he published his major work, ''De leg ...

(1774) * Mrs Candour in ''

'' by

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

(1777) * Kitty in '' The Double Deception'' by Elizabeth Richardson (1779) * Miss Phoebe Latimer in '' The Natural Son'' by

(1784) * Mrs Alscrip in ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jam ...

'' by

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

(1786) * Mrs Modely in ''

Seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

'' by

Thomas Holcroft Thomas Holcroft (10 December 174523 March 1809) was an English dramatist, miscellanist, poet, novelist and translator. He was sympathetic to the early ideas of the French Revolution and helped Thomas Paine to publish the first part of ''The Ri ...

(1787) * Mrs Dorothy in '' The Impostors'' by

(1789) * Lisette in '' False Appearances'' by

Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He held ...

(1789) * Mrs Dorville in '' The German Hotel'' by

(1790) * Alexina in '' A Day in Turkey'' by Hannah Cowley (1791) * Lady Amaranth in '' Wild Oats'' by John O'Keeffe (1791) * Cora in '' Columbus'' by Thomas Morton (1792) * Lady Eleanor Irwin in '' Everyone Has His Fault'' by

Elizabeth Inchbald Elizabeth Inchbald (née Simpson, 15 October 1753 – 1 August 1821) was an English novelist, actress, dramatist, and translator. Her two novels, '' A Simple Story'' and '' Nature and Art'', have received particular critical attention. Life B ...

(1793) * Lady Henrietta in '' How to Grow Rich'' by Frederick Reynolds (1793) * Lady Panick in '' False Colours'' by Edward Morris (1793) * Lady Fancourt in '' Love's Frailties'' by

(1794) * Lady Horatia Horton in '' The Town Before You'' by Hannah Cowley (1794) * Lady Anne in ''

The Deserted Daughter ''The Deserted Daughter'' is a 1795 comedy play by the British writer Thomas Holcroft. The original Covent Garden cast included William Thomas Lewis as Cheveril, John Quick as Item, Alexander Pope as Mr Mordent, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Dona ...

'' by

(1795) * Lady Plinlimmon in '' The Welsh Heiress'' by

Edward Jerningham Edward Jerningham was a poet who moved in high society during the second half of the 18th century. Born at the family home of Costessey Park in 1737, he died in London on 17 November 1812. A writer of liberal views, he was savagely satirised later ...

(1795) * Mrs Margaret in '' The Dependent'' by

(1795) * Lady Torrendel in '' Life's Vagaries'' by John O'Keeffe (1795) * Mrs Wrangle in '' First Love'' by

(1795) * Lady Taunton in '' The Man of Ten Thousand'' by

(1796) * Ellen in '' A Cure for the Heart Ache'' by Thomas Morton (1797) * Lady Manfred in '' The Last of the Family'' by

(1797) * Lady Ferment in '' Knave or Not?'' by

(1798) * Maria in '' He's Much to Blame'' by

(1798) * Constantia in '' The Eccentric Lover'' by

(1798) * Lady Truckle in '' A Word for Nature'' by

(1798) * Lady Julia in '' Five Thousand a Year'' by Thomas John Dibdin (1799) * Susannah Lizard in '' The Secret'' by Edward Morris (1799) * Julia Cleveland in '' The Votary of Wealth'' by Joseph George Holman (1799) * Emma in '' The Birth Day'' by Thomas John Dibdin (1799) * Victoria in '' Indiscretion'' by Prince Hoare (1800) * Mrs Racket in '' Fashionable Friends'' by

Mary Berry Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (''née'' Berry; born 24 March 1935) is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at college. She then move ...

(1802) * Caroline in '' Hear Both Sides'' by

(1803) * Lady Courtland in ''

The School for Friends ''The School for Friends'' is an 1805 comedy play by the British writer Marianne Chambers. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 10 December 1805. The Drury Lane cast featured Robert William Elliston as Lord Belmour, Richard ...

'' by

Marianne Chambers Marianne Chambers (fl. 1799-1811 or 1812) was an English playwright. In 1799 she published a novel, ''He Deceives Himself: A Domestic Tale'' in three volumes, which was favourably reviewed in ''The Gentleman's Magazine'': "in its perusal we have ...

(1805)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Jane English stage actresses 1744 births 1818 deaths 18th-century English actresses 19th-century English actresses Actresses from London