Elizabeth Scot Yorke, Countess of Hardwicke (''née'' Lindsay; 1 October 1763 – 26 May 1858) was a British playwright and member of the aristocracy.

Early life and education

Born to James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres and Anne Dalrymple, Hardwicke married Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke, on 24 July 1782. She became Countess of Hardwicke in 1796 when her husband succeeded his uncle. The couple had eight children, four boys and four girls. All four boys died young. Hardwicke regularly wrote and produced plays and performances in

Wimpole Hall Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned ...

, but she was very conservative in her views and saw this less as a profession of writing than an example of her duty as a mother and charitable lady. In 1831 she was involved in the Irish Distress Committee raising money to relieve the suffering of poor Irish people. With the permission of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, she published ''The Court of Oberon'', which she had written in the 1790s. She also provided the illustrations for the book. She died at age 94 at Tyttenhanger House. She is buried in Chicheley Chapel in

Wimpole Wimpole is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. Until 1999, the main settlement on the A603 was officially known and signed as ''New Wimpole and Orwell, Camb ...

, commemorated on the monument she had erected to the memory of her husband and sons.

Bibliography

* ''The Court of Oberon, or The Three Wishes. A Drama in Three Acts'' (1831)

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorke, Elizabeth Scot Lindsay 1763 births 1858 deaths Hardwicke British women dramatists and playwrights Daughters of Scottish earls Elizabeth Nobility from Fife