Frances Anne Edgeworth (née Beaufort) (1769–1865), known as Fanny, was an Irish botanical artist and memoirist. She was the stepmother and confidant of the author
Maria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the n ...
.
Early life
Frances Anne Beaufort was born at ''Flower Hill'' in Navan, County Meath, in 1769.
She was one of four children of
Daniel Augustus Beaufort
Daniel Augustus Beaufort LL.D. (1 October 1739 – 1821), was an Anglican priest and geographer, born in England to French Huguenot parents. He was rector of Navan, County Meath, Ireland, from 1765 to 1818, and a talented amateur architect also ...
and Mary Beaufort (née Waller). Her brother was Admiral
Francis Beaufort, and her sisters were the writers
Harriet and Louisa. She was educated at Mrs Terson's School at
Portarlington, learning writing, drawing, dancing and French. She studied art further under the English artist Bowring, Dublin-based Francis Robert West, and Raymond Deshouilleres of London.
In 1788, she accompanied her father on a tour of Ireland, recording archaeological sites and objects. The family lived in London from 1789 to 1790.
Later life
On 31 May 1798, she married
Richard Lovell Edgeworth
Richard Lovell Edgeworth (31 May 1744 – 13 June 1817) was an Anglo-Irish politician, writer and inventor.
Biography
Edgeworth was born in Pierrepont Street, Bath, England, son of Richard Edgeworth senior, and great-grandson of Sir Sal ...
, becoming his fourth wife and stepmother of Maria Edgeworth and her 11 siblings. Edgeworth and Maria, who was a year older than her stepmother, would become close to Maria, describing her as "her beloved friend and mother".
There is evidence that Edgeworth was a writer like her sisters and stepdaughter, but her work was largely overlooked. A visitor to
Edgeworthstown
Edgeworthstown or Mostrim () is a small town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath. Nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone 4 ...
in 1813, James Hall, makes reference to her as a "successful" author, with a published novel, ''What You Choose to Call it'' or ''The Good Wife''. This attribution was repeated in 1884, but is not mentioned by the family or their papers. It is known that Edgeworth wrote a memoir of Maria Edgeworth, containing selected letters. Some of Edgeworth's letters are held by the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...
,
and in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
.
The Edgeworths went on to have six children together: Frances Maria Edgeworth (1799 – 4 February 1848), Harriet Edgeworth (1801–1889), Sophia Edgeworth (1803–1836), Lucy Jane Edgeworth (1805–1897), Francis Beaufort Edgeworth (1809–1846), and
Michael Pakenham Edgeworth
Michael Pakenham Edgeworth (24 May 1812 – 30 July 1881) was an Irish botanist who specialized in seed plants and ferns, and spent most of his life working in India. He was also a pioneer of photography.
Early life and family relations
Edge ...
(24 May 1812 – 1881). Edgeworth died on 10 February 1865 at Edgeworthstown, County Longford.
Amongst her grandchildren is the philosopher and political economist,
Francis Ysidro Edgeworth
Francis Ysidro Edgeworth (8 February 1845 – 13 February 1926) was an Anglo-Irish philosopher and political economist who made significant contributions to the methods of statistics during the 1880s. From 1891 onward, he was appointed the ...
.
Artistic work
Edgeworth was a contemporary of other botanical women artists of the time, such as
Mary Delaney
Mary Delany ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks" and botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence.
Early life
Mary Delany was born at C ...
.
Her father's biographer, Ellison, describes her as "an exceptionally talented artist in oils and crayons", though Edgeworth also worked in watercolour. She illustrated her father's 1792 ''A New Map of Ireland''.
After her marriage, Edgeworth helped in the illustration of her husband's engineering projects. She produced illustrations for Maria Edgeworth's ''The Parent's Assistant'', which were used in the third edition. It was the production of these drawings that led to Richard Lovell Edgeworth and Frances meeting and subsequently marrying.
The private collection at Edgeworthstown House holds an album containing some of these drawings. The
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...
in California has a volume of her botanical watercolours of plants from her home and around Ireland, dating from 1798 to 1807.
These botanical paintings are of well-known plants from her home and surroundings and consist of 101 drawings. The drawings are very detailed and show a keen interest in botany. Edgeworth includes the Linnaean names, with her primary interest being in a complex group of plants, the
Cryptogam
A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...
s.
References
External links
Edgeworth's letters in the National Library of IrelandEdgeworth's entry in the Database of Scientific Illustrators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgeworth, Frances Anne
1769 births
1865 deaths
19th-century Irish women artists
18th-century Irish women artists
18th-century Irish painters
19th-century Irish painters
Irish illustrators
Irish women illustrators
Botanical illustrators
Irish non-fiction writers
Irish women non-fiction writers
Irish women writers
Frances
Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...