Mary Elizabeth Mohl
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Mary Elizabeth Mohl or Mary Elizabeth Clarke (22 February 1793 – 15 May 1883) was a British writer who was known as a salon hostess in Paris. She was known by her nickname of "Clarkey". She was admired for her independence and conversation. She eventually married the orientalist Julius von Mohl. She was an ardent
Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...
, a
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 ...
, and a close friend of
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...
. She wrote about her interest in the history of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
.


Life

Mary Elizabeth Clarke was born in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
in 1793.Patrick Waddington, 'Mohl, Mary Elizabeth (1793–1883)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 5 Feb 2015
/ref> After the death of her father, Charles Clarke, Mary, at age 8, her mother, Elizabeth, and grandmother moved to France in 1801.
Both her guardians were strong and independent-minded women. Her Scottish grandmother had hobnobbed with thinkers like
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...
and
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...
in Edinburgh and before the French Revolution lived in
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
. Mary's mother Elizabeth was a progressive free thinker.
Ties with England were not lost; in 1808 Mary's sister, Eleanor, married John Frewen-Turner, a member of parliament. Mary would frequently visit their home at Cold Overton in Leicestershire. Eventually, Mary's charm became almost universally admired, and as a result she had a number of notable suitors and important contacts in both France and England. Mary was on very good terms with Madame Récamier, who was both the landlady of their sub-let accommodation at the Abbaye-aux-Bois, as well as a leader in French intellectual salon society. After the 1815 restoration of the Bourbon monarchy,
Mary Clarke came to know Juliette Recamier... Through her, she met literary greats such as
Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, , ), was a French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' T ...
, Hugo, Prosper Merimee and Chateaubriand. Chateaubriand – author of ''Memoirs from Beyond the Grave'' – was by now a grumpy old man, but he cheered up when entertained by "la jeune anglaise".
In June 1822, Mary and her mother visited England and Scotland. One of her suitors, Claude Charles Fauriel, who had become a loyal friend, revealed his interest when he wrote to Mary concerning Auguste Sirey, who had been spoken of as Mary's fiancée. He was concerned as it had been proposed that Sirey would go to England with them. During her relationship with Claude Fauriel, she became acquainted with the family of the famous Italian writer and poet
Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel ''The Betrothed (Manzoni novel), The Betrothed'' (orig. ) (1827), generally ranked among ...
In 1838 she made her final move when she rented rooms above the writer and historian
François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...
. These were a third floor apartment at 120 Rue du Bac in the Saint-Germain district. There,"she offered a home-from-home" to
William Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...
, the Brownings, and the Trollopes, "as well as to many aristocrats, diplomats and politicians." For nearly forty years, the Clarke and later Mohl home was an intellectual centre in Paris. About this time she was introduced to William Nightingale's family including his daughter Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale recorded that "Clarkey" was a stimulating hostess who did not care for her appearance and although her ideas might not always agree with her guests, "she was incapable of boring anyone." Her behaviour was said to be exasperating and eccentric, and she was clear that she had no respect for British women who she regarded generally as inconsequential. She said that if given the choice between being a woman or a galley slave then she would choose the freedom of the galleys. She generally avoided female company and spent her time with male intellectuals like Fauriel and Mohl. However Clarkey made exceptions including
George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
, Lady Augusta Stanley,
Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian era, Victoria ...
and
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...
in particular. She and Florence were to remain close friends for 40 years despite their 27-year age difference. Mohl demonstrated that women could be equals to men, an idea that Florence did not obtain from her mother. In 1847, at around 54 years old, she married the orientalist Julius von Mohl who was the son of the prime minister to the king of
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
.Note by Mary Mohl
National Archives, retrieved 5 February 2015
It was said that someone coughed when she gave her age at the marriage and that it was recorded as 39. The groom was about 47. Henry James described how
Madame Mohl used to drop out of an omnibus, often into a mud-puddle, at our door, and delight us with her originality and freshness. I can see her now, just arrived, her feet on the fender before the fire, her hair flying, and her general untidiness so marked as to be picturesque.
In 1854, Florence Nightingale set off with a team of women to assist in nursing the wounded men from the Crimean War in Scutari. Nightingale's studies had been assisted by Mary and her husband and they again assisted Nightingale when she travelled through Paris en route to the Crimea. Mary had other varying literary associations as well. A portion of '' Wives and Daughters'' was written by
Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian era, Victoria ...
whilst staying with Mohl. Mohl herself wrote ''Madame Récamier, with a Sketch of the History of Society in France'', published in London in 1862. This book drew on her knowledge of Récamier, but it also outlined her interest in women and a history of their rights. She was a lifelong advocate for women and reading. In 1870–71, Mohl decided to avoid France's war with Prussia, and spent the winter with friends in London. Having retired from being a hostess, Mohl died in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1883. She was buried with her husband in Paris in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohl, Mary Elizabeth 1793 births 1883 deaths People from Westminster Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery British women writers British expatriates in France 19th-century British women writers Mary