Frances Alsop (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Daly; 1 September 1782 – 2 June 1821) was an English actress. She was the illegitimate child of

Richard Daly Richard Daly (1758–1813) was an Irish actor and theatrical manager who, between 1786 and 1797, held the Royal patent for staging dramatic productions in Dublin and became such a dominant figure in Irish theatre that he was referred to as "Kin ...

(1758–1813), manager of the

Smock Alley Theatre Since the 17th century, there have been numerous theatres in Dublin with the name Smock Alley. The current Smock Alley Theatre () is a 21st-century theatre in Dublin, converted from a 19th-century church building, incorporating structural mat ...

, Dublin, and the actress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan (née Bland; 22 November 17615 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time partner of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), and the mother of 10 illegitimate children ...

''née'' Bland (1761–1816).

Life

Frances was born and raised in England, where her mother – adopting the stage name "Mrs Jordan" – had continued her stage career, which by 1786 led her to be part of London's

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

theatre company. By 1790 Dorothea Jordan was the mistress of the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...

(later King William IV). Frances's story begins in earnest in 1803 at her coming-of-age, when she was settled at her own home in

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and so ...

, London, all paid for by her mother. In 1806 Frances had changed her name to Frances Bettesworth, in order to receive a financial bequest from an elderly and wealthy gentleman of that name; a deal negotiated by her mother. On 1 August 1807 Frances married Thomas Alsop at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. The churc ...

, London. He was a clerk of the delivery of small arms in the

Ordnance Office The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

.''The Story of Dorothy Jordan'' by Claire Jerrold (London: Eveleigh Nash. 1914) p. 272 It seems likely that Frances and Thomas expected a dowry of £10,000, from her mother's connection with the Duke of Clarence, and she and Alsop took up residence at no 11 Park Place (

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

). While the precise facts of Frances's dowry are unknown, the marriage was fraught with financial difficulties often caused by Alsop, and debts were usually met by Mrs Jordan. The couple eventually separated, with Alsop having passage arranged to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

, where he died.''The Great Illegitimates : public and private life of that celebrated actress Miss Bland, otherwise Mrs. Ford, or Mrs Jordan; the late mistress of H. R. H. the D. of Clarence, now King William IV, founder of the Fitzclarence family ...'' by a confidential friend of the departed (London: Duncombe. 1832?) p
258
/ref> It was not until 18 October 1815 that (as Mrs Alsop) Frances first took to the stage, 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 sit ...

, in the role of Rosalind in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' and she was well received. She made her debut at the Drury Lane theatre in January 1817 with equal success, as Donna Violenta in ''The Wonder'' (1714) by

Susanna Centlivre Susanna Centlivre (c. 1669 (baptised) – 1 December 1723), born Susanna Freeman, and also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress, and "the most successful female playwright of the eighteenth century". Centlivre's ...

. It seems from most of the newspaper reports of her acting that she rarely escaped comparison – generally favourable – with her mother; mention is also made of her skill as a musician (harp and guitar) and the attractiveness of her singing voice. Despite her initial success newspaper reports also show that year on year her roles steadily declined in number, and she increasingly made appearances in provincial theatres from

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. Her finances seem always to have been shaky, especially after her mother's death in 1816. In 1820 the king paid off her debts for the last time, and she left

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for New York, where she found work as an actress, billed – somewhat erroneously – as the granddaughter of the late King of England. She died there from an overdose of

laudanum Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum'') in alcohol (ethanol). Reddish-br ...

on 2 June 1821. The news was reported succinctly in the London press:

DEATH of MRS. ALSOP. -- We are sorry to learn,
says the ''Advocate'', that Mrs. Alsop, the celebrated actress, died
suddenly yesterday morning. Her death is attributed to taking
too much laudanum by mistake; she had been sick for several
days previous to this unfortunate occurrence. --''New York Paper''.''The Morning Post (London, England), Saturday, 21 July 1821; Issue 1570''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alsop, Frances 1782 births 1821 deaths 19th-century English actresses English stage actresses Drug-related deaths in New York City