Elizabeth Smith

-
Elizabeth Smith , a young woman of unusual intellectual gifts, aroused public interest by her early death, and by the abilities and especially the piety revealed in her posthumously published works. She was a scholar (particularly in the field of languages) rather than a writer, but her poems, letters, and reflections are worthy of interest as well as her fine translations from German and Hebrew. She was much exercised by the malign image of the learned lady, which seems to have made her uneasy about her talents and ambition, but her discussions of this issue proved empowering for many of her immediate (and publishing) successors.
  • BirthName: Elizabeth Smith
Stipple engraving of Elizabeth Smith, 1776-1806, by R. M. Meadows from a drawing by John George Wood, published 1809. This head-and-shoulders, oval picture shows her wearing a simple, loose, high-waisted dress with a tall frilled collar. Her dark curly hair is pulled up and tied on top of her head. Below is printed in italic script: "This is a Drawing of the Author during her last Illness by J. G. Wood." National Portrait Gallery.

Milestones

27 December 1776

Elizabeth Smith was born, a second child and eldest daughter, at the beautiful residence of her paternal ancestors,
Smith, Elizabeth, 1776 - 1806. Fragments, in Prose and Verse. Editor Bowdler, Henrietta Maria, Richard Cruttwell, 1809.
1
Burnhall or Burn Hall near Durham.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.
Smith, Elizabeth, 1776 - 1806. Fragments, in Prose and Verse. Editor Bowdler, Henrietta Maria, Richard Cruttwell, 1809.
1, 215

7 August 1806

Elizabeth Smith died at Coniston, aged twenty-nine. It was fourteen months since she had been struck down.
Smith, Elizabeth, 1776 - 1806. Fragments, in Prose and Verse. Editor Bowdler, Henrietta Maria, Richard Cruttwell, 1809.
212

By August 1808

Fragments in Prose and Verse by a young lady, lately deceased [Elizabeth Smith ] was published at Bath, collected and edited after Smith's death by Henrietta Maria Bowdler , and including translations.
It was reviewed in August 1808 in The Christian Observer, as recorded by one of the OCLC WorldCat listings for the US reprint of this review.
OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.
OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.

Biography

Birth and Family

27 December 1776

Elizabeth Smith was born, a second child and eldest daughter, at the beautiful residence of her paternal ancestors,
Smith, Elizabeth, 1776 - 1806. Fragments, in Prose and Verse. Editor Bowdler, Henrietta Maria, Richard Cruttwell, 1809.
1
Burnhall or Burn Hall near Durham.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.
Smith, Elizabeth, 1776 - 1806. Fragments, in Prose and Verse. Editor Bowdler, Henrietta Maria, Richard Cruttwell, 1809.
1, 215

Please click on login button to check your access and/or enter your credentials. Alternatively if you don’t have access, please click on “Subscribe”.

Log inSubscribe