Elizabeth Bentley (1767–1839) was an English
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
, one of a small wave of
British and Irish writers from the labouring classes in the eighteenth century. She was a local poet who was nonetheless engaged with larger political and social issues.
Biography
She was born in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, the only child
[Brown et al.,]
Elizabeth Bentley
of Elizabeth Lawrence and Daniel Bentley. The latter, a
journeyman
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
cordwainer who had himself received a good education, educated Elizabeth, his only child. The family faced financial difficulties after he suffered a
stroke in 1777 and was unable to work at his usual trade. He died in 1783 when his daughter was sixteen.
Two years later, Bentley reported a new-found desire to write poetry "which
hehad no thought or desire of being seen." However, in 1790 the following notice was published:
Speedily will be published, price two shillings and sixpence, The poetical compositions of Elizabeth Bentley; who, unimproved by education, Has given Proof of a strong Natural Genius; and Uses her best Endeavours to obtain a Livelihood by honest Industry, Living irreproachably with her aged Mother, near St. Stephen's gates, Norwich. The encouragers of indigent merit are entreated to favor the authoress with their names and subscriptions; Which will be taken by W. Stevenson, at the Norfolk Arms; and all the Booksellers in Norwich. Norwich, GB: printed by Crouse and Stevenson, 1790.[Bentley, Elizabeth]
" The Women's Print History Project, 2019, Person ID 680. Accessed 2022-09-08.
The resulting publication, ''Genuine Poetical Compositions'' (1791), had an impressive 1,935 subscribers, including literary notables
Elizabeth Carter
Elizabeth Carter (pen name Eliza; 16 December 1717 – 19 February 1806) was an English poet, classicist, writer, translator, linguist, and polymath. As one of the Bluestocking Circle that surrounded Elizabeth Montagu,Encyclopaedia BritannicRet ...
,
Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson; 2 October 1718 – 25 August 1800) was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonnière, literary critic and writer, who helped to organize and lead the Blue Stockings Society. Her parents were both ...
,
William Cowper
William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...
, and
Hester Chapone
Hester Chapone ''née'' Mulso (27 October 1727, Twywell, Northamptonshire – 25 December 1801, Hadwell, Middlesex), was an English writer of conduct books for women. She became associated with the London Bluestockings.
Life
Hester, the daugh ...
. As a
labouring-class poet, Bentley—"content to be the last and lowest of the tuneful train"—adopted a humble stance towards her readers and let it be known that the venture was intended to establish an annuity for her mother and herself. Both her collections contained portraits of the author and accounts of her life "designed to raise patrons";
the account written in 1790 and published in the first volume is the source of most that is known of her. Her poetry celebrates the countryside and engages in public debates on topics such as
abolitionism and
cruelty to animals. Cowper compared her favourably with
Mary Leapor
Mary Leapor (1722–1746) was an English poet, born in Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire, the only child of Anne Sharman (died 1741) and Philip Leapor (1693–1771), a gardener. She, out of the many labouring-class writers of the period, w ...
, a labouring-class poet of the previous generation, citing her "strong natural genius."
[Donna Landry,]
Bentley, Elizabeth (bap. 1767, d. 1839)
" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. 12 April 2007. Modern critics note that Bentley's "submissive" tone no doubt played a part in her acceptance among middle-class readers.
After the publication of her first volume, Bentley kept a small boarding school and did not publish much – some poems for children which she co-authored with the prolific
Ellenor Fenn
Ellenor Fenn ( Frere; 1743–1813; pseudonyms, Mrs. Teachwell, Mrs. Lovechild) was a prolific 18th-century British writer of children's books.
Early life
Ellenor Frere was born on 12 March 1743/44 in Westhorpe, Suffolk to Sheppard and Susanna ...
;
an ode on the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
(1805) – for three decades. This hiatus ended with the publication, by subscription, of her ''Poems'' in 1821.
She died on 13 April 1839, in an
almshouse.
Works
* ''Dedicated, by permission, to Wm. Drake, Jun. Esq. M.P. Genuine poetical compositions, on various subjects. By E. Bentley''. Norwich, GB: printed by Crouse and Stevenson, for the authoress, and may be had of her near the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital; or of W. Stevenson, in the Market-Place. MDCCXCI. (entered at Stationers' Hall), 1791.
Etext British Women Romantic Poets Project)
Etext Google Books)
* With
Ellenor Fenn
Ellenor Fenn ( Frere; 1743–1813; pseudonyms, Mrs. Teachwell, Mrs. Lovechild) was a prolific 18th-century British writer of children's books.
Early life
Ellenor Frere was born on 12 March 1743/44 in Westhorpe, Suffolk to Sheppard and Susanna ...
. ''A miscellany in prose and verse, for young persons. Designed particularly for the amusement of Sunday scholars''. London: Printed and sold by John Marshall, No. 4, Aldermary Church-Yard, Bow-Lane, and No. 17, Queen-Street, Cheapside, 1798.
[Jackson Bibliography]
* ''An Ode on the Glorious Victory Over the French and Spanish Fleets, on the 21st of October, 1805, and the Death of Lord Nelson''. Norwich: Stevenson and Matchett, 1805.
Etext Google Books)
* With
Ellenor Fenn
Ellenor Fenn ( Frere; 1743–1813; pseudonyms, Mrs. Teachwell, Mrs. Lovechild) was a prolific 18th-century British writer of children's books.
Early life
Ellenor Frere was born on 12 March 1743/44 in Westhorpe, Suffolk to Sheppard and Susanna ...
. ''A Miscellany, in Prose and Verse, for Young Persons, on Sunday. By Mrs. Lovechild''. London: J. Harris, 1807.
* ''Poems; Being the Genuine Compositions of Elizabeth Bentley, of Norwich''. Norwich, GB: Sold by the Author, near the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital; Sold also by Messrs. Taylor and Hessey, 93, Fleet-Street, London; Stevenson, Matchett, and Stevenson, Norwich; Messrs. Deightons, Cambridge; and All Other Booksellers, 1821.
Etext Google Books)
*Miscellaneous Poems; Being the Genuine Compositions of Elizabeth Bentley, of Norwich. Third Volume. Norwich, GB: Printed by Matchett, Stevenson, and Matchett, Market-Place, 1835.
Etext Google Books)
See also
*
List of 18th-century British working-class writers
This list focuses on published authors whose working-class status or background was part of their literary reputation. These were, in the main, writers without access to formal education, so they were either autodidacts or had mentors or patron ...
Notes
Resources
* Blain, Virginia, et al., eds. "Bentley, Elizabeth." ''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English''. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1990. 85.
*Brown, Susan, et al.
Elizabeth Bentley" Orlando: Women's Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present. Ed. Susan Brown, Patricia Clements, and Isobel Grundy. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge UP, n.d. 22 Mar. 2013. Accessed 8 Sept. 2022.
*Jackson Bibliography of Romantic Poetry.
Elizabeth Bentley" University of Toronto Library. Accessed 8 Sept. 2022.
* Landry, Donna.
Bentley, Elizabeth (bap. 1767, d. 1839)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. 12 April 2007.
Bentley, Elizabeth" The Women's Print History Project, 2019, Person ID 680. Accessed 2022-09-08.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Elizabeth
1767 births
1839 deaths
18th-century English poets
19th-century English poets
18th-century English women writers
18th-century English writers
19th-century English women writers
19th-century English writers
English women poets
Writers from Norwich