Betty Careless or Betsy Careless (–1739) was a notorious

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

and later

bagnio Bagnio is a loan word into several languages (from it, bagno). In English, French, and so on, it has developed varying meanings: typically a brothel, bath-house, or prison for slaves. In reference to the Ottoman Empire The origin of this sense ...

-owner in 18th-century London. Probably born Elizabeth Carless (though she later used the name Mrs. Elizabeth Biddulph), she adapted her name to better suit her profession. Her name, beauty and reputation made her, like

Sally Salisbury Sally Salisbury (c.1692 – 1724), real name Sarah Pridden and also known as Sarah Priddon, was a celebrated prostitute in early 18th-century London. She was the lover of many notable members of society, and socialised with many others. In 172 ...

before her, something of an archetypal

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...

for the popular culture of the day.

Biography

She was born around 1704 in London. Nothing is known of her early life, but she was an established courtesan by the 1720s. Initially under the protection of the

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

Robert Henley (later

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

), by 1729 when she opened her own house in Tavistock Row she was attached to Sir Charles Wyndham (later

Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wy ...

). Wyndham and Careless probably had a mutually beneficial relationship; he lived for free while his society connections ensured a higher-class clientele for Careless's house. In '' Amelia'',

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

recalled seeing her at a play when she was a young girl. Though, he said, "it was impossible to conceive a greater Appearance of Modesty, Innocence and Simplicity", her beauty disguised her true character. He had seen her a few days before "in bed with a Rake, at a bagnio, smoking Tobacco, drinking Punch, talking obscenity and swearing and cursing with all the Impudence and Impiety of the lowest and most abandoned Trull of a Soldier". Some idea of her reputation can be divined from the graffiti "Prayer" attributed to her in the ''Bog-House Miscellany'' (ca. 1731): "Grant us good lusty Men, ye gracious Pow'rs! Or else stop up those craving Things of ours!", and her inclusion in one of '' Joe Miller's Jests'' in which an admirer compliments her on the perfection of her legs and says they are so alike that they "must be twins", to which Betty replies, "Oh no sir, for I have had more than one or two in between them". By the early 1730s she had reached the peak of her professional career, and she moved to a house in the Little Piazza in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

to try her hand as a

bawd Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. She takes centre-stage in

Louis Peter Boitard Louis Peter Boitard ( fl. 1750) was a French engraver and designer, who worked in London. Life He was born in France, and was a pupil of Raymond Lafage. His father François Boitard brought him to England. The date of Louis Boitard's death is un ...

's 1739 picture ''The Covent Garden Morning Frolick'', in which she is being chauffeured home in a sedan chair after a night on the town with Captain "Mad Jack" Montague (who rides on the top of the sedan chair) and a motley assortment of her companions, including her personal

link-boy A link-boy (or link boy or linkboy) was a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians at night. Linkboys were common in London in the days before the introduction of gas lighting in the early to mid 19th century. The linkb ...

, Little Casey. In

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...

's ''

A Rake's Progress ''A Rake's Progress'' (or ''The Rake's Progress'') is a series of eight paintings by 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. The canvases were produced in 1732–1734, then engraved in 1734 and published in print form in 1735. The series ...

'' her name is carved on the steps by an inmate in the final scene. According to the notes in the ''Anecdotes of William Hogarth'', this man is William Ellis who was supposed to have been driven mad by his love for Betty. In his essay on

Dr Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 184 ...

portrays her as the archetypal courtesan, characterising the life of those of "literary character" as precarious, fortunate to be "sometimes drinking champagne and tokay with Betty Careless". Careless, alongside many of the other notorious bawds of the early 18th century, may have inspired Mrs Cole in

John Cleland John Cleland (c. 1709, baptised – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist best known for his fictional '' Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure'', whose eroticism led to his arrest. James Boswell called him "a sly, old malcont ...

's ''

Fanny Hill ''Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure''—popularly known as ''Fanny Hill''—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London,Wagner, "Introduction", ...

''. By early 1735 she had given up her house in Covent Garden (

Jane Douglas Jane Douglas ( – 10 June 1761), commonly known as Mother Douglas, was a brothel-keeper in mid-18th century London. Known at the time as "The Empress of the Bawds", her house in Covent Garden attracted customers from the higher echelons of ...

took it over); she was drinking heavily and could not duplicate the success she had enjoyed as a prostitute when she attempted to run a brothel. She announced that she would be opening a "Coffee House" in Prujean's Court at the Old Bailey, but she herself acknowledged that the place was ill-situated for her business and in her advertisement practically begged her customers to continue to visit her. ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' announced in October 1739 that she had been buried from the poor house. Much later, Fielding recorded her epitaph in ''

The Covent Garden Journal ''The Covent-Garden Journal'' (modernised as ''The Covent Garden Journal'') was an English literary periodical published twice a week for most of 1752. It was edited and almost entirely funded by novelist, playwright, and essayist Henry Fielding, ...

'':

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Careless, Betty 1700s births 1739 deaths English brothel owners and madams English female prostitutes