Review of "Elizabeth Craven, Writer, Feminist and European"
This review of "Elizabeth Craven, Writer, Feminist and European" appeared on the Bookworm blog.
Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Craven, Later Princess Berkeley, Margravine of Brandenburg-Anspach by Ozias Humphrey
New Book Alert: Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist, European by Julia Gasper; Wonderful Feminist Biography of a Great Independent Woman Forgotten By History
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about being an Editor/Book Reviewer is learning about different historical people and events, many of which I was previously unfamiliar. I recently reviewed L’Agent Double, Kit Sergeant's novel which featured the infamous Mata Hari and two other female spies of WWI that were just as important but have been overlooked by much of history: Marthe Cnockeart and Alouette Richer.
I just reviewed Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly’s brilliant novel about Caroline Ferriday and the Ravensbruck Rabbits, a group of Polish women who had received dangerous experimental surgeries during the Holocaust.
For another website, I am reviewing a book about William Cooper, an activist who fought for the rights of Australia's First Nations People also known as the Aborigines.
Another interesting colorful figure I just learned about was Elizabeth Baroness Craven, Princess Berkeley Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1750-1828). Craven was an English noblewoman who had a scandalous and unhappy marriage that ended in divorce. However, she was also an accomplished poet, playwright, translator, travel writer and a forward thinking independent woman who championed women’s causes like education both at home and abroad.
Julia Gasper tells of Craven's fascinating life in her biography, Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist, European. Gasper gives us a full picture of a woman who challenged society's restrictions by living according to her own terms and standards.
Gasper makes it clear from the first chapter that Craven was someone who had to be independent and willing to challenge the standards that she was under. She was born Elizabeth Berkeley, the sixth child and second only surviving daughter of Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley and his wife, Lady Berkeley. They were hoping for a second son, the “spare” to add to the “heir,” and could barely contain their disappointment. (A second son, George was born three years later.) In fact, when she was born, Elizabeth was so small and underweight that her mother considered suffocating her, except her great-aunt interfered.
Craven’s mother had no interest in her children particularly her younger daughter. She often neglected and ignored them. Because of this, Craven found maternal warmth in her godmother, great-aunt, and a governess, the warmth that she lacked from her mother. The lack of maternal feeling gave Craven the independence that she needed to survive on her own and challenge the standards held by the women of her mother's day.
Craven had a passionate nature that she inherited from her parents. Before he married, her father had an affair with a married woman that ended when her husband confronted her in public.
Craven's father died when she was five and her mother remarried a man who many thought was an opportunist. Lady Berkeley subsequently gave birth to two more daughters, but her second husband doubted that he fathered the younger of the two. Craven's sister and brothers also had relationships that were the causes of much gossip. These scandalous affairs foreshadowed into Craven's later life and unhappy marriage.
Elizabeth had a sound mind and body that came from strict learning and practice.
She was educated in French, Italian, dancing, drawing and playing the harp. She was educated by the standards of a young girl of her class, but she had a determination to learn more than what she had been given. She was a voracious reader with a passion for history and philosophy and a strong mind for business and finances which helped her aid her first and second husband in their expenditures. This education helped her learn and understand a world beyond her limited role as an English noblewoman.
She was also given cold baths and health food to toughen her up and keep her figure. When she grew, she participated in physical activity such as horseback and eating health foods. This strenuous physical regimen also played a large part of her adulthood when she observed other women's flaccid often weary nature and reasoned that it may have developed from increased dependence in their relationships.
Craven's marriage to William Craven already seemed like an attraction of opposites. She was from a wealthy noble family; he was a clergyman's son but the heir to a distant noble relative. She was educated and learned in many fields; he was described as “a plain and dull fellow whose education at Rugby and Oxford taught him very little.” She liked reading books, art, and music; he liked horse and dog racing, hunting, and reading newspapers. She was well-mannered, polite, and observant; he was uncouth, abrasive, and bad tempered. Their marriage was not going to last and it didn't.
The marriage resulted in the birth of 7 children but there were several incidents of physical and emotional abuse largely from William to Craven. There were also repeated accusations of infidelity from both sides. Finally after 13 years of marriage, she and William divorced. While the divorce gave her freedom and independence, it also cost Craven dearly. She gave up most of her homes and custody of all but one of her children.
She was bandied about and made the subject of gossip and rumor mongering such as that she had married another man or that she was really pregnant. Ironically, most of their closest friends and acquaintances preferred her because of her friendly outgoing nature, over William's brutish often intoxicated attitude.
Of course, once Craven did something about her unhappiness she was then derided. Her situation reflected the double standards many had at the time where they sympathized with a woman who was unhappily married but vilified her once she got out of the marriage.
Craven was a strong intellectual woman and like many intellectual women of her day, she hosted salons where she invited the best authors, philosophers, scientists and players during the Enlightenment Age. However, unlike many other women, Gasper revealed that Craven was not content to just invite them and be the hostess. She wanted to be one of the intellectuals. This idea of producing her own work and many of her views such as abolishing slavery and creating stronger women's rights put her at odds with her peers, particularly the bluestockings, the older educated sophisticated women of Craven's class.
Craven wrote many works and like many creative and talented people found inspiration in the world around her. Many of her works reflected her philosophical and political views and also provided commentary on her unhappy marriage.
She was the subject of various poems which recounted her witty and learned nature in contrast to William’s boorish dullness. Her first published works particularly the poem, “Lines Addressed to the Rev. Charles Jenner” were love letters to the lovers that she had during her marriage. One in particular was Rev. Charles Jenner, a minister and academic who wrote plays and comic verse. Their affair ended long before Craven's divorce happened but it was Jenner who encouraged Craven to publish her writing.
Craven also translated and wrote a number of plays, many of which questioned the role of women in society. One play, The Miniature Picture, seems like a typical mistaken identity romantic romp similar to Shakespeare's comedies like The Merchant of Venice or As You Like It. But buried inside is a conversation between a man and a woman disguised as a man who discuss marriage and divorce. The protagonist, played by Craven herself in the original performance, asks if the man prefers “marriage based on fear” and inquires if the man would prefer to hurt his wife to the point that she fears him rather than see the marriage end amicably. This was a subject important to Craven because of her own troubled marriage to William.
Another play that reflected her views was her translation of the Moliere play, The Statue Feast, about the notorious rake, Don Juan. Besides retelling the play, Craven added a prologue that discussed war in France. More importantly, she added an epilogue which invited the audience to imagine England being governed by a Parliamentary of women. While the suggestion was clearly made in a tongue-in-cheek manner (there would be “a tax on gossip and slander.”), this epilogue revealed that Craven wanted to break free from the constraints held by male-dominated restrictions and law.
By far Craven's most important feminist work occurred after her divorce. This was Letters from a Peeress of England to Her Eldest Son. Written as a series of letters to her son, William, Craven described her unhappy marriage and protested the legal status of wives under English law. It blatantly attacked the view that women should be under complete control of her husband. Craven warned her son to look at his wife as an equal and not as property. This was a strong and bold statement for that day.
It is a shame that Lady Elizabeth Craven is not as well known as other early feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft or Sojourner Truth. Letters from a Peeress of England, could be considered a landmark feminist work along the lines of Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Abigail Adam’s “Remember the Ladies” letter, or Truth's “And Arn't I a Woman?” speech....
Read more at :-
http://juliesaraporterbookworm.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-book-alert-elizabeth-craven-writer.html?m=0
New Book Alert: Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist, European by Julia Gasper; Wonderful Feminist Biography of a Great Independent Woman Forgotten By History
Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Craven, Later Princess Berkeley, Margravine of Brandenburg-Anspach by Ozias Humphrey
New Book Alert: Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist, European by Julia Gasper; Wonderful Feminist Biography of a Great Independent Woman Forgotten By History
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about being an Editor/Book Reviewer is learning about different historical people and events, many of which I was previously unfamiliar. I recently reviewed L’Agent Double, Kit Sergeant's novel which featured the infamous Mata Hari and two other female spies of WWI that were just as important but have been overlooked by much of history: Marthe Cnockeart and Alouette Richer.
I just reviewed Lilac Girls, Martha Hall Kelly’s brilliant novel about Caroline Ferriday and the Ravensbruck Rabbits, a group of Polish women who had received dangerous experimental surgeries during the Holocaust.
For another website, I am reviewing a book about William Cooper, an activist who fought for the rights of Australia's First Nations People also known as the Aborigines.
Another interesting colorful figure I just learned about was Elizabeth Baroness Craven, Princess Berkeley Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1750-1828). Craven was an English noblewoman who had a scandalous and unhappy marriage that ended in divorce. However, she was also an accomplished poet, playwright, translator, travel writer and a forward thinking independent woman who championed women’s causes like education both at home and abroad.
Julia Gasper tells of Craven's fascinating life in her biography, Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist, European. Gasper gives us a full picture of a woman who challenged society's restrictions by living according to her own terms and standards.
Gasper makes it clear from the first chapter that Craven was someone who had to be independent and willing to challenge the standards that she was under. She was born Elizabeth Berkeley, the sixth child and second only surviving daughter of Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley and his wife, Lady Berkeley. They were hoping for a second son, the “spare” to add to the “heir,” and could barely contain their disappointment. (A second son, George was born three years later.) In fact, when she was born, Elizabeth was so small and underweight that her mother considered suffocating her, except her great-aunt interfered.
Craven’s mother had no interest in her children particularly her younger daughter. She often neglected and ignored them. Because of this, Craven found maternal warmth in her godmother, great-aunt, and a governess, the warmth that she lacked from her mother. The lack of maternal feeling gave Craven the independence that she needed to survive on her own and challenge the standards held by the women of her mother's day.
Craven had a passionate nature that she inherited from her parents. Before he married, her father had an affair with a married woman that ended when her husband confronted her in public.
Craven's father died when she was five and her mother remarried a man who many thought was an opportunist. Lady Berkeley subsequently gave birth to two more daughters, but her second husband doubted that he fathered the younger of the two. Craven's sister and brothers also had relationships that were the causes of much gossip. These scandalous affairs foreshadowed into Craven's later life and unhappy marriage.
Elizabeth had a sound mind and body that came from strict learning and practice.
She was educated in French, Italian, dancing, drawing and playing the harp. She was educated by the standards of a young girl of her class, but she had a determination to learn more than what she had been given. She was a voracious reader with a passion for history and philosophy and a strong mind for business and finances which helped her aid her first and second husband in their expenditures. This education helped her learn and understand a world beyond her limited role as an English noblewoman.
She was also given cold baths and health food to toughen her up and keep her figure. When she grew, she participated in physical activity such as horseback and eating health foods. This strenuous physical regimen also played a large part of her adulthood when she observed other women's flaccid often weary nature and reasoned that it may have developed from increased dependence in their relationships.
Craven's marriage to William Craven already seemed like an attraction of opposites. She was from a wealthy noble family; he was a clergyman's son but the heir to a distant noble relative. She was educated and learned in many fields; he was described as “a plain and dull fellow whose education at Rugby and Oxford taught him very little.” She liked reading books, art, and music; he liked horse and dog racing, hunting, and reading newspapers. She was well-mannered, polite, and observant; he was uncouth, abrasive, and bad tempered. Their marriage was not going to last and it didn't.
The marriage resulted in the birth of 7 children but there were several incidents of physical and emotional abuse largely from William to Craven. There were also repeated accusations of infidelity from both sides. Finally after 13 years of marriage, she and William divorced. While the divorce gave her freedom and independence, it also cost Craven dearly. She gave up most of her homes and custody of all but one of her children.
She was bandied about and made the subject of gossip and rumor mongering such as that she had married another man or that she was really pregnant. Ironically, most of their closest friends and acquaintances preferred her because of her friendly outgoing nature, over William's brutish often intoxicated attitude.
Of course, once Craven did something about her unhappiness she was then derided. Her situation reflected the double standards many had at the time where they sympathized with a woman who was unhappily married but vilified her once she got out of the marriage.
Craven was a strong intellectual woman and like many intellectual women of her day, she hosted salons where she invited the best authors, philosophers, scientists and players during the Enlightenment Age. However, unlike many other women, Gasper revealed that Craven was not content to just invite them and be the hostess. She wanted to be one of the intellectuals. This idea of producing her own work and many of her views such as abolishing slavery and creating stronger women's rights put her at odds with her peers, particularly the bluestockings, the older educated sophisticated women of Craven's class.
Craven wrote many works and like many creative and talented people found inspiration in the world around her. Many of her works reflected her philosophical and political views and also provided commentary on her unhappy marriage.
She was the subject of various poems which recounted her witty and learned nature in contrast to William’s boorish dullness. Her first published works particularly the poem, “Lines Addressed to the Rev. Charles Jenner” were love letters to the lovers that she had during her marriage. One in particular was Rev. Charles Jenner, a minister and academic who wrote plays and comic verse. Their affair ended long before Craven's divorce happened but it was Jenner who encouraged Craven to publish her writing.
Craven also translated and wrote a number of plays, many of which questioned the role of women in society. One play, The Miniature Picture, seems like a typical mistaken identity romantic romp similar to Shakespeare's comedies like The Merchant of Venice or As You Like It. But buried inside is a conversation between a man and a woman disguised as a man who discuss marriage and divorce. The protagonist, played by Craven herself in the original performance, asks if the man prefers “marriage based on fear” and inquires if the man would prefer to hurt his wife to the point that she fears him rather than see the marriage end amicably. This was a subject important to Craven because of her own troubled marriage to William.
Another play that reflected her views was her translation of the Moliere play, The Statue Feast, about the notorious rake, Don Juan. Besides retelling the play, Craven added a prologue that discussed war in France. More importantly, she added an epilogue which invited the audience to imagine England being governed by a Parliamentary of women. While the suggestion was clearly made in a tongue-in-cheek manner (there would be “a tax on gossip and slander.”), this epilogue revealed that Craven wanted to break free from the constraints held by male-dominated restrictions and law.
By far Craven's most important feminist work occurred after her divorce. This was Letters from a Peeress of England to Her Eldest Son. Written as a series of letters to her son, William, Craven described her unhappy marriage and protested the legal status of wives under English law. It blatantly attacked the view that women should be under complete control of her husband. Craven warned her son to look at his wife as an equal and not as property. This was a strong and bold statement for that day.
It is a shame that Lady Elizabeth Craven is not as well known as other early feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft or Sojourner Truth. Letters from a Peeress of England, could be considered a landmark feminist work along the lines of Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Abigail Adam’s “Remember the Ladies” letter, or Truth's “And Arn't I a Woman?” speech....
Read more at :-
http://juliesaraporterbookworm.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-book-alert-elizabeth-craven-writer.html?m=0
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