Ann Elliot (16 November 1743 – 30 May 1769) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

courtesan and actress. She appeared in comedies in London and Dublin. She had relationships with her mentor Arthur Murphy, with

Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and with Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland.

Life

Elliot was born in

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated populat ...

in 1743 to Mary and Richard Elliot. Her father was the sexton of the local church. Elliot became a servant in London, then a high-class courtesan under the name of "Miss Hooper". She became the protegée and mistress of barrister and writer Arthur Murphy. Murphy wrote plays, including ''The Citizen'', a farce, first produced at Drury Lane in 1761, with Elliot in the role of Maria. David Garrick was disparaging about her acting, but he did offer her a contract. However, Garrick did not say that he would pay her, so she went to

Spranger Barry Spranger Barry (23 November 1719 – 10 January 1777) was an Irish actor. Life He was born in Skinner's Row, Dublin, the son of a silversmith, to whose business he was brought up. He took over the business but was not successful. His fir ...

Crow Street Theatre Crow Street Theatre was a theatre in Dublin, Ireland, originally opened in 1758 by the actor Spranger Barry. From 1788 until 1818 it was a patent theatre. History Spranger Barry and Henry Woodward The actor Spranger Barry (1719–1777), born i ...

in Dublin for a season. She then returned to work in London, appearing in comedies at Covent Garden for three years. In about 1765,

wanted her to leave the stage and become his mistress. Hervey was known as the "English Casanova". Her friendship with Murphy continued. In 1767 she took the role of Mary Ann in his new play ''A School for Guardians''. Murphy was given the profits from two of the six nights it was performed and he gave that money to Elliot.

Death and legacy

Elliot died after a long illness in a house in Greek Street in Soho that had been given to her by the Duke of Cumberland. Cumberland was the King's younger brother and she had been his mistress. She left thousands of pounds to her family including a contribution by the Duke. He arranged for her body to be buried and for a memorial to be created that includes lines attributed to Arthur Murphy. After her death an anonymous biography appeared of her life noting how Arthur Murphy was devoted to her and how he missed her after her death. After Arthur Murphy's death this relationship was written about by

Fanny Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

who found Murphy's devotion to Elliot fascinating.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Ann 1743 births 1769 deaths People from Tonbridge 18th-century British actresses British stage actresses English courtesans 18th-century English women 18th-century English people