Barbarina Brand, Lady Dacre (''née'' Ogle; 1768 – May 17, 1854), was an English poet, playwright, and translator. In addition to her writing, she sculpted, rode, was proficient in both French and Italian, and maintained an extensive correspondence with a circle of other literary women, including

Joanna Baillie Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philoso ...

Mary Russell Mitford Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English author and dramatist. She was born at New Alresford, Alresford in Hampshire. She is best known for ''Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes and vividly dr ...

, and Catherine Maria Fanshawe.

Early life and education

Barbarina Ogle was born in 1768. She was the third daughter of Admiral

Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet Sir Chaloner Ogle, 1st Baronet (1726 – 27 August 1816) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Life He was the son of Nathanie ...

(died 1816), and Hester Thomas (daughter of John Thomas,

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

). Her brother was Admiral

Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet (24 May 1775 – 16 June 1858) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action leading storming parties at the capture of Martinique and at the capture of Guadeloupe during the Frenc ...

. Her sister, Sophia, was married to General

Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet General Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet, (6 April 1762 – 23 July 1823) was a career soldier in the British Army. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of general. He is best remembered as the principal of the so ...

. Educated at home, she became "one of the most accomplished women of her time":Cooper, Thompson.
Brand , Barbarina, Lady Dacre (1768–1854)
" Rev. Rebecca Mills. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. 6 Jan. 2007.

Career

In 1789, she married Valentine Henry Wilmot, of Farnborough, Hampshire, an officer in the guards, though they later separated. The couple had one daughter, Arabella Jane (Wilmont) Sullivan (1796–1839). After Wilmot's death in 1819, she married

Thomas Brand, 20th Baron Dacre Thomas Brand, 20th Baron Dacre (25 March 1774 – 21 March 1851) was a British peer and Whig politician. Background Dacre was the eldest son of Thomas Brand, of The Hoo, Hertfordshire, and Gertrude, 19th Baroness Dacre, daughter of the Hon. Cha ...

(1774–1851), later that same year. He died without issue. Lady Dacre was one of the most accomplished and intellectual women of her time. In 1821, her poetical works were printed, but not published, in two volumes

octavo Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...

, under the title of ''Dramas, Translations, and Occasional Poems. By Barbarina Lady Dacre''. Some of these were dated in the 18th century. They included four dramas, the first of which, ''Gonzalvo of Cordova'', was written in 1810. In the character of the great captain, the author followed the novel of

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (March 6, 1755 in the château of Florian, near Sauve, Gard – September 13, 1794 in Sceaux) was a French poet, novelist and fabulist. Life Florian's mother, a Spanish lady named Gilette de Salgues, died whe ...

. The next, ''Pedrarias, a tragic drama'', was written in May 1811; and its story was derived from ''Les Incas'' of

Jean-François Marmontel Jean-François Marmontel (11 July 1723 – 31 December 1799) was a French historian, writer and a member of the Encyclopédistes movement. Biography He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin (today in Corrèze). After studying with th ...

. Her third dramatic work was ''Ina, a tragedy in five acts'', the plot of which was laid in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times in England. It was produced at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

on the 22 April 1815, under the management of

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

, to whose second wife, the daughter of Dr. Ogle, Dean of Winchester, the author was related. It was not sufficiently successful to induce its repetition, for in the Times of the 24 April 1815, was printer: "The second representation of the new tragedy called ''Ina'' is postponed till further notice, at the express desire of the authoress." It was printed in 1815 as produced on the stage; but in Lady Dacre's collected works, she restored "the original catastrophe, and some other parts which had been cut out." A fourth drama bore the title of ''Xarifa''. It was remarked in the ''Quarterly Review'', No. xcvii. that her, "Dramas, both tragic and comic, have been much and greatly admired." Lady Dacre's book contained also several translations of the

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

s of

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

, some of which seemed to have been privately printed at an earlier date. In 1823, when

Ugo Foscolo Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet. He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''. Early life Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...

produced his ''Essays on Petrarch'', he dedicated the volume to Lady Dacre. The last 45 pages of Foscolo's book were occupied by Lady Dacre's translations from Petrarch. In addition to her other accomplishments, Lady Dacre was an excellent amateur artist, and excelled in modelling animals, particularly the horse.

Later life and death

She edited in 1831 ''Recollections of a Chaperon'', and in 1838, ''Tales of the Peerage and Peasantry'', both written by her only daughter Arabella Sullivan (the author of ''Ellen Wareham''). Arabella died in the year 1849, leaving by the Rev. Frederick Sullivan, Vicar of

Kimpton, Hertfordshire Kimpton is a village in Hertfordshire, England, six miles south of Hitchin, seven miles north of St Albans and four miles from Harpenden and Luton. The population at the 2011 Census was 2,167. History Kimpton is mentioned in the Domesday Book: "I ...

, five children. Her final years were marked by the loss of her hearing. She died on 17 May 1854.

Selected works

*''Dramas, Translations, and Occasional Poems'' (2 vols., privately printed in 1821), including ::*''Gonzalvo of Cordova'' (1810, based on de Florian's ''Gonzalve de Cordone'' 791 ::*''Pedarias, a Tragic Drama'' (1811, based on Marmontel's ''Les Incas'') ::*''Ina, a tragedy in five acts'' (produced at

in 1815 under Sheridan; printed the same year) ::*''Xarifa'' (drama) *Forty-five pages of her translated sonnets were published in Ugo Foscolo's ''Essays on

'' (1823) *Editor, ''Recollections of a Chaperon'' by Arabella Sullivan (short stories, 1831) *Editor, ''Tales of the Peerage and Peasantry'' by Arabella Sullivan (short stories, 1835) *''Translations from the Italian'' (privately printed in 1836)

References

Attribution

Bibliography

*"Dacre, Barbarina Brand." ''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English''. Virginia Blain et al., eds. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1990. 259.
''A Family Chronicle derived from Notes and Letters selected by Barbarina, the Hon. Lady Grey'', edited by Gertrude Lyster. John Murray, Albemarle Street, London W.
This correspondence claims that Barbarina Ogle was the daughter of

Sawrey Gilpin Sawrey Gilpin (30 October 1733 – 8 March 1807) was an English animal painter, illustrator, and etcher who specialised in paintings of horses and dogs. He was made a Royal Academician. Life and work Gilpin was born in Carlisle in Cumbr ...

, not Admiral Sir Chaloner Ogle.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brand, Barbarina 1768 births 1854 deaths 18th-century English women writers 18th-century English writers 18th-century English poets 18th-century English dramatists and playwrights 18th-century English translators 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English poets 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British translators English women dramatists and playwrights English women poets Dacre Italian–English translators Daughters of baronets Deaf writers English writers with disabilities English deaf people Deaf poets