James Henry Lawrence (1773–1840) was a British writer. He is known for his utopian novel ''The Empire of the Nairs, or the Rights of Women'', which appeared in English in 1811. It was influenced by the political writing of

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft (, ; 27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional personal relationsh ...

and William Godwin.

Life

He was the son of Richard James Lawrence, a slave-owner of Fairfield,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, where he was Montem poet in 1790. He then studied in Germany, at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. Lawrence led an itinerant life, mainly in continental Europe. In 1803, in France with his father, he was arrested, along with other English residents and tourists, and was detained for several years at

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

. He escaped by passing himself off as an Austrian. He received compensation for the Fairfield estate, under the

Slave Compensation Act 1837 The Slave Compensation Act 1837 (1 & 2 Vict. c. 3) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on 23 December 1837. It authorised the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to compensate slave owners in the Brit ...

. Lawrence died unmarried 26 September 1840, and was interred with his father in the burying-ground of St. John's Wood Chapel. He claimed to be a Knight of Malta, and was known as the Chevalier Lawrence.

Works

The "utopian romance" ''The Empire of the Nairs'', Lawrence's major work, developed in stages. In 1793 he published in ''

Der Teutsche Merkur ''Der teutsche Merkur'' (English: ''The German Mercury'') was a literary magazine published and edited by Christoph Martin Wieland. The magazine was modeled on French magazine, ''Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and li ...

'' an essay on the

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histo ...

castes of Malabar, examining their customs of marriage and inheritance. In 1800 Lawrence completed a novel on the topic, in German. It was published in the ''Journal der Romane'' the following year, as ''Das Paradies der Liebe'', then reprinted as ''Das Reich der Nairen''. The book was subsequently translated into French and English by the author, and published in both versions; the English translation, as ''The Empire of the Nairs'' (1811), was much modified from the original, and had an introduction advocating the customs. The content is a description of a search for

sexual freedom A sexual norm can refer to a personal or a social norm. Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define ''normal sexuality'' to consist only of certain sex acts between individuals who meet specific criteria of age, consanguinity ...

and independence for women. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Lawrence about the book, in 1812. Aaron Burr admired it, and called on Lawrence in London. Other works were: *''A Picture of Verdun, or the English detained in France'' (London 1810, 2 vols.) *''On the Nobility of the British Gentry'' (1824, 4th ed. 1840) *''The Etonian out of Bounds'' (1828), a collection of writings.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, James Henry 1773 births 1840 deaths People educated at Eton College University of Göttingen alumni British male novelists British essayists British slave owners 19th-century British writers