Sarah Harding (''fl.'' 1721–9) was an Irish printer and publisher who suffered "inopportune imprisonments" for some of her publications. She is known for publishing

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

's ''

A modest proposal ''A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick'', commonly referred to as ''A Modest Proposal'', is a Juvenalian satirical essay wr ...

'' in 1729 (An idea that the poor could sell their children as food).

Biography

Sarah Harding was the wife and business partner of printer John Harding near

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward Stre ...

, on the Blind Quay,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Her mother was a well-known Dublin printer, Elizabeth Sadlier, and it is possible that it was this connection that drew John into the printing business. Following her husband's imprisonment for publishing an unauthorised version of the lord lieutenant's speech on the opening of the parliamentary session, Harding took over the printing business. Her first publication was a pamphlet, ''The present miserable state of Ireland'' (1721), that is occasionally attributed to

. Her husband was released in 1721, and employed by Swift to publish a half-page protest against the proposed bank of Ireland. It was not for the Hardings' skill or refinement as printers that Swift chose them, but due to their willingness to "issue ephemeral, adventurous, even dangerous papers of controversy". The Hardings risked prosecution again after John's publishing of Swift's ''

Drapier's Letters ''Drapier's Letters'' is the collective name for a series of seven pamphlets written between 1724 and 1725 by the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Jonathan Swift, to arouse public opinion in Ireland against the imposition of a priv ...

'', with the couple arrested and but on trial in November 1724, but were not convicted. John Harding died on 19 April 1725, with Harding giving birth to a son, provocatively named John Draper Harding, in May 1725. Harding continued the printing business after her husband's death, and retained Swift as a client. Under her mother's imprint, possibly to distance herself from the Drapier incident, she published a poem in 1726. She was imprisoned again briefly for publishing ''On wisdoms defeat in a learned debate'' (1725) which was deemed "an impudent and insolent paper", and is attributed at times to Swift. In 1728 she published Swift's ''A short view of the present state of Ireland'' and the periodical, ''The Intelligencer'', edited by Swift and

Thomas Sheridan Thomas Sheridan may refer to: *Thomas Sheridan (divine) (1687–1738), Anglican divine *Thomas Sheridan (actor) (1719–1788), Irish actor and teacher of elocution *Thomas Sheridan (soldier) (1775–1817/18) *Thomas B. Sheridan (born 1931), America ...

. It is thought they chose Harding due to her past service and poverty. Sheridan wrote in an edition of the periodical: "that the widow, the printer of these papers, who did likewise print the Drapier's letters, must be enabled by charitable encouragements to keep a merry Christmas, for she and her family were ruined by inopportune imprisonments and hardship for printing those papers, which were to the advantage of the kingdom in general". Her last major publication was in 1729, with Swift's ''

''. After this, Swift used the printer

George Faulkner George Faulkner (c. 1703 – 30 August 1775) was one of the most important Irish publishers and booksellers. He forged a publishing relationship with Jonathan Swift and parlayed that fame into an extensive trade. He was also deeply involved with ...

. Harding remarried, marrying Nicholas Hussey, a fellow Dublin printer. Her date of death is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Sarah Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 18th-century publishers (people) Irish publishers (people) 18th-century Irish businesswomen

Biography

See also

References