Sophia Lee

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SL 's other writings, both dramatic and novelistic, are overshadowed by the fame of her novel The Recess.
Oval, head-and-shoulders stipple engraving of Sophia Lee by William Ridley after Sir Thomas Lawrence, published 1797. She is wearing a tall, turban-style white cap over her curled and powdered hair, and a layered cloak over a pale, tightly-laced bodice with a kerchief reaching to her throat and fastened with a bow. Her name ("Miss Lee") is written below.

Milestones

Shortly before 13 May 1750
SL was born in London to parents who were both on the stage.
Highfill, Philip H., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans. A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press, 1973–1993.
February 1783
SL published with Cadell , as the author of The Chapter of Accidents, the first volume of her historical novel The Recess; or, A Tale of Other Times.
Lee, Sophia. “Introduction”. The Recess, edited by April Alliston, University Press of Kentucky, 2000, p. ix - lii.
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Late 1785
SL published the final volumes of The Recess.
April Alliston notes that the second edition was sensitively corrected and revised—if not by SL then by someone who understood her artistic aims. In the third edition, many of these revisions were ignored and earlier error restored, while some heavy-handed editor mechanically tidied SL's syntax—in one case, for instance, substituting a name for her
Lee, Sophia. “Introduction”. The Recess, edited by April Alliston, University Press of Kentucky, 2000, p. ix - lii.
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to improve clarity, even though it is a name not yet revealed by the plot, so that it lets out a secret and destroys suspense.
Lee, Sophia. “Introduction”. The Recess, edited by April Alliston, University Press of Kentucky, 2000, p. ix - lii.
xlix-lii
Lee, Sophia. “Introduction”. The Recess, edited by April Alliston, University Press of Kentucky, 2000, p. ix - lii.
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28 January 1807
SL 's last work, her comedy The Assignation, was produced at Drury Lane .
It has no connection with The Assignation: A Sentimental Novel in a Series of Letters, published by Noble in 1774.
Lee, Sophia. “Introduction”. The Recess, edited by April Alliston, University Press of Kentucky, 2000, p. ix - lii.
xlviii
1820
A novelette appeared which was clearly a spin-off from SL 's The Recess: it is entitled (in part) Rose Douglas; or, The Court of Elizabeth; its heroine is sole survivor of twins born to Mary Queen of Scots .
Dobson, Michael. “Lost Mother”. London Review of Books, pp. 10-13.
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13 March 1824
SL died at her home in Clifton near Bristol.
Lee, Sophia. “Introduction”. The Recess, edited by April Alliston, University Press of Kentucky, 2000, p. ix - lii.
xlviii

Biography

A Theatrical Family

Shortly before 13 May 1750
SL was born in London to parents who were both on the stage.
Highfill, Philip H., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans. A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Southern Illinois University Press, 1973–1993.

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