Elizabeth Ogilvy Benger (baptised on 15 June 1775 at

West Camel West Camel is a village and civil parish in south Somerset, England, about north of the town of Yeovil. It lies either side of the River Cam, just south of the A303, and has a population of 459. The parish includes the hamlet of Urgashay. Neig ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, died on 9 January 1827 in London) was an English biographer, novelist and poet. Some of her poetry had a strong social message.

Early life and education

Elizabeth was the daughter of John Benger or Benjey and his wife Mary, née Long. Her father was a tradesman in Wells. He became a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

in 1782 and the family lived mainly in Chatham, Kent until 1797. According to a fellow writer,

Lucy Aikin Lucy Aikin (6 November 1781 – 29 January 1864) was an English historical writer, biographer and correspondent. She also published under pseudonyms such as Mary Godolphin. Her literary-minded family included her aunt Anna Laetitia Barbauld, a w ...

, Elizabeth early showed "an ardour for knowledge, a passion for literature". She was allowed at the age of twelve to attend a local boys' school to learn Latin, and the next year had a poem published, ''The Female Geniad''. This featured "female theologians, scholars, and preachers such as Cassandra del Fides, Isabella of Barcelona, and Issona of Verona, alongside Cornelia, as historic women to inspire 'the British fair' of her day." It was preceded by a customarily apologetic preface that "deploys innocence with great sophistication," as recent commentators put it. "The voice... is the voice of cultural authority."

Career

Impoverished Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

after the death of her father in 1796, the family moved to

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, and then to London in 1802, where Benger made the acquaintance of several literary figures. These included the novelists Jane and

Anna Maria Porter Anna Maria Porter (1778–1832) was a British poet and novelist. Life The sister of Jane Porter and Robert Ker Porter, she was probably born on 17 December 1778 and was baptized in Salisbury on 25 December 1778. She spent her infancy in Dur ...

, and the poet

Caroline Champion de Crespigny Caroline Champion de Crespigny (1797–1861) was an early 19th-century English poet and translator. In the tradition of Romanticism, she published ''My Souvenir, or, Poems'' in 1844. Her translations, mainly from German into English, were often ...

, a former mistress of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. She later became known to John Aikin and his daughter Lucy, the poet and children's writer

Anna Laetitia Barbauld Anna Laetitia Barbauld (, by herself possibly , as in French, Aikin; 20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825) was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and author of children's literature. A " woman of letters" who published in mu ...

, Sarah Wesley, the writer daughter of the prominent

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen T ...

, and the novelist and actress

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 Bo ...

. She made a poorer impression on Charles and

Mary Lamb Mary Anne Lamb (3 December 1764 – 20 May 1847) was an English writer. She is best known for the collaboration with her brother Charles on the collection '' Tales from Shakespeare'' (1807). Mary suffered from mental illness, and in 1796, aged ...

, and on the diarist

Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, third and youngest son of Henry Robinson ( ...

, who described her as "ludicrously fidgety" at a party where

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's '' ...

was present. Elizabeth wanted to become a playwright, but she had no success and soon turned to poetry with a social message. "The Abolition of the Slave Trade" appeared in 1809, with verse by James Montgomery and

James Grahame Rev James Grahame (22 April 1765 – 14 September 1811) was a Scottish poet. His best-known poem, ''The Sabbath'', combines devotional feeling with vivid description of Scottish scenery. Early life He was born at Whitehill House in Glasgow, t ...

on the same subject. Then came two novels, the second of which was also translated into French. She later turned to non-fiction, translating from German and introducing a volume of letters by

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known work is the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah"). One of his major contributions to German literature was to open it up to exploration outside ...

, and to writing and compiling competent biographical materials on Elizabeth Hamilton, John Tobin, Elizabeth of Bohemia,

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

and

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

between 1818 and 1825. After that, her health began to fail. She was collecting materials for a life of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

when she died on 9 January 1827.''Memoirs of the late Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton. With a selection from her correspondence, and other unpublished writings'' (London: Longman, 1818); ''Memoirs of John Tobin ... With a selection from his unpublished writings'' (London: Longman, 1820); ''Memoirs of the Life of Anne Boleyn, Queen of Henry VIII'' (London: Longman, 1821); ''Memoirs of the Life of Mary Queen of Scots'' (London: Longman, 1823); ''Memoirs of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of King James the First. Including sketches of the state of society in Holland and Germany, in the 17th century'' (London: Longman, 1825); ODNB entry and British Library catalogue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benger, Elizabeth 1775 births 1827 deaths 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century English women writers English women novelists Writers from London English translators Women of the Regency era