ELIZABETH CRAVEN AND HER WORLD

Brandenburgh house from The Beauties of England and Wales by John Britton. The text of this allegory is preserved in the British Library. The original edition is simply entitled "Prelude," and it is not attributed in the catalogue to Elizabeth Craven. However, there can be no doubt that she is the author. It appears to be the first work of Elizabeth Craven's that was performed in her celebrated private theatre at Brandenburgh House in Hammersmith, Middlesex in what is now London.  The work can be firmly dated to 1793 because of its allusions to the outbreak of war between Britain and France, and also from its verses dedicating the theatre to the Muse Thalia, and pronouncing a benediction over it. The text below has been edited and corrected. Brandenburgh House from the River Thames. The theatre is visible on the left of the picture.   An Allegorical Masque, performed at Brandenburgh House in 1793, written by Elizabeth Craven, Margravine of Ans...

Elizabeth Craven lived in France just before the French Revolution of 1789 and visited it several times at the height of the Revolution and during the Napoleonic period. She met Napoleon, and knew many people who were closely bound up in the tumultuous events of that time. Wherever she went she  had her ear to the ground for new and important ideas, and enjoyed intellectual stimulation. If she thought ideas were extreme or absurd, she  seized on them with mockery and u sed them in her comedies. This is the title page of one of her most remarkable works, a play written in 1790. To find out more about Elizabeth Craven and her writings, read: Vernon Press - Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist and European ... https://vernonpress.com/title?id=334 23 Jun 2017 -  Elizabeth Craven's  fascinating life was full of travel, love-affairs and scandals but this biography, the first to appear for a century, is the only one ... To read the full t...