Elizabeth Farren (c. 175923 April 1829) was an Irish actress of the late 18th century. Born in Cork in 1759 her father, George Farren was a surgeon. His drinking habits brought on early death and his widow returned to Liverpool. Her mother went on the stage to support herself and her children. Elizabeth first appeared on the London stage in 1777 as Miss Hardcastle in '' She Stoops to Conquer'' and the following year appeared 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 ...

which, along with the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

became her primary venues for the rest of her acting career. She had over 100 characters in her repertoire including Shakespeare and various contemporary comedies and dramas. She was often compared to Frances Abington, who was her only real rival. Her last appearance was in April 1797, two months before her marriage to

Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby PC (1 September 1752 ( O.S.) – 21 October 1834), usually styled Lord Stanley from 1771 to 1776, was a British peer and politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He held office a ...

. They had a son and two daughters.

Early life

Elizabeth (sometimes Eliza) Farren was the daughter of George Farren of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland, a surgeon and apothecary, later an actor, and his wife (née Wright) of Liverpool, the daughter of a publican or brewer. The actress Margaret Farren was her sister. At a very early age Farren performed at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and elsewhere in juvenile parts. In 1774 she was acting with her mother and sisters at Wakefield under

Tate Wilkinson Tate Wilkinson (27 October 173916 November 1803) was an English actor and manager. Life He was the son of a clergyman and was sent to Harrow. His first attempts at acting were badly received, and it was to his wonderful gift of mimicry that he ...

's opponent, Whiteley, when she played Columbine and sang. At the age of fifteen, at Liverpool, she played Rosetta in ''Love in a Village'' and subsequently her best known role of Lady Townly in ''

The Provoked Husband ''The Provoked Husband'' is a 1728 comedy play by the British writer and actor Colley Cibber, based on a fragment of play written by John Vanbrugh. It is also known by the longer title ''The Provok'd Husband: or, a Journey to London''. Vanbrugh ...

'' by Colley Cibber.

London career

She was introduced by Younger, her Liverpool manager, to George Colman and made her first appearance in London at the

Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...

on 9 June 1777, playing Miss Hardcastle. Her performance was favourably received, and, after playing Maria in Murphy's ''Citizen'', Rosetta, and Miss Tittup in Garrick's ''Bon Ton'', she was cast as Rosina in the ''Spanish Barber, or the Useless Precaution'', his adaptation from Beaumarchais' '' The Barber of Seville''. She also spoke the epilogue to the play. On 11 July 1778 she was the original Nancy Lovel in Colman's ''Suicide''. This was a "breeches" part, to which her figure was unsuited, and she was subjected to some satire for shapelessness. Performances as Lady Townly, and Lady Fanciful in the ''

Provoked Wife ''The Provoked Wife'' (1697) is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. It made its first appearance in Lincoln's Inn Fields in May, 1697. The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy ''The Provoked Wife'' in th ...

'' restored her to public favour. In September 1778 she made her first appearance at

, as Charlotte Rusport in the ''West Indian''. She performed primarily at this theatre (where she was the successor to Frances Abington when the latter left in 1782) or at the Haymarket for the rest of her stage career, with occasional performances in the provinces and at

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 ...

. She had over 100 characters in her repertoire, including Berinthia in Sheridan's ''Trip to Scarborough'', Belinda in Murphy's ''All in the Wrong'', Angelica in ''Love for Love'', Elvira in ''Spanish Friar'', Hermione in the '' Winter's Tale'', Olivia in '' Twelfth Night'', Portia, Lydia Languish, Millamant in '' The Way of the World'', Statira, Juliet, and Lady Betty Modish. She "created" few original parts: Lady Sash in '' The Camp'', assigned to Sheridan, Drury Lane, 15 October 1778; Mrs Sullen in Colman's ''Separate Maintenance'', Drury Lane, 31 August 1779; Cecilia in Miss Lee's ''Chapter of Accidents'', Haymarket, 5 August 1780; Almeida in Pratt's ''

The Fair Circassian ''The Fair Circassian'' is a 1781 tragedy by the British writer Samuel Jackson Pratt. It is an adaptation of the novel '' Almoran and Hamet'' by John Hawkesworth. He wrote the lead role for his friend Sarah Siddons, but due to other commitments ...

'', 27 November 1781; and the heroines of various comedies and dramas of Mrs. Cowley, Mrs. Inchbald,

General Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several batt ...

Miles Peter Andrews Miles Peter Andrews (1742 – 18 July 1814) was an 18th-century English playwright, gunpowder manufacturer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1796 to 1814. Biography Andrews was the son of William Andrews, a drysalter of Watli ...

, and of other writers. The last original part she played was the heroine of Holcroft's ''Force of Ridicule'', 6 December 1796, which was unfavourably received on its first night and remains unprinted. On her last appearance, 8 April 1797, she played Lady Teazle; a large audience was attracted, and Farren, after speaking the farewell lines of her part, burst into tears. The Shakespearean parts of Hermione,

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *'' Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia Medication A form of birth control made of ethinylestradiol/lev ...

, Olivia and

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

were in her repertory, but comedy parts such as Lady Betty Modish, Lady Townly, Lady Fanciful and Lady Teazle were her favourites. Farren had a slight figure and was above average height. Her face was expressive and animated, she had blue eyes, a winning smile, and a sweet, cultivated voice. In manner and bearing she appears to have had no rival except Frances Abington, with whom she was often compared.

Retirement and later life

On 1 May 1797 she married

(1752–1834) by whom she had a daughter, Lady Mary Margaret Stanley, who married

Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton, GCH, PC (30 December 1799 – 7 March 1882), known as Thomas Grosvenor until 1814, was a British nobleman and Tory politician. He served as Lord Steward of the Household in 1835 in Sir Robert Peel's fi ...

. She died on 23 April 1829 at

Knowsley Park Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of parkland, which contains the Knowsley ...

, Lancashire. She had a short sentimental attachment to John Palmer and was admired and followed by Charles Fox. Lord Derby reportedly treated her with more respect than was sometimes given to ex-actresses. Hazlitt speaks of "Miss Farren, with her fine-lady airs and graces, with that elegant turn of her head and motion of her fan and tripping of her tongue" (''Criticisms and Dramatic Essays'', 1851, p. 49).

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...

(''Memoirs'', ii. 236) mentions her style as "exquisite." George Colman the younger (''Random Recollections'', 1. 251) says of "the lovely and accomplished Miss Farren" that "No person ever more successfully performed the elegant levies of Lady Townly." Tate Wilkinson credits her with "infinite merit" (''Wandering Patentee'', iii. 42). Boaden (''Life of Siddons'', ii. 318) says that after her retirement comedy degenerated into farce.

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

spoke of her as the most perfect actress he had ever seen, and Mrs. Siddons, on the day of Farren's marriage, commiserated the loss of "our comic muse." Farren reportedly had an affair with Anne Seymour Damer.Piozzi, Hester. Diary entry dated 17 June 1790.

Portraits

A life-size portrait of her by

Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...

, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was shown at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

annual exhibition in 1790. Another portrait of her was in the Mathews collection in the Garrick Club c. 1900. [Works cited; Memoirs of the Present Countess of Derby, late Miss Farren, by Petronius Arbiter, esq., London, quarto, n.d. (1797); The Testimony of Truth to the Exalted Merit, or a Biographical Sketch of the Countess of Derby, London, quarto, 1797 (a reply to the preceding); John Genest, Account of the English Stage; Monthly Mirror, April 1797; Thespian Dictionary; Tea-Table Talk, by Mrs. Mathews, 1857.]

References

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External links