ELIZABETH CRAVEN AND HER WORLD

It is extraordinary how Elizabeth Craven seemed to get to meet all the most famous, or in some cases, infamous, people of her time. The French actress Hyppolite Clairon is another example. Craven knew her well -  only too well as at one time they were rivals for the same man. Born Claire Josèphe Hyppolite Leris, into a humble family, the actress's performances in classical tragedy created a storm of success from the very first time she appeared at the Comédie Francaise. She excelled at performing the lead roles in the plays of Racine, Corneille and Voltaire. Voltaire was living in Paris at the time and became one of her most ardent admirers. She adapted her first name into a stage name "Clairon" which means a clarion call, very suitable for someone who was not shy of the limelight!          In her old age she published her Memoirs, which included the singular story of how she had been haunted by the ghost of a disappointed lover. The story was alread...

There are various portrayals of Elizabeth Craven, the Georgian feminist writer, in the Victoria and Albert Museum.  This one is an engraving based on an earlier painting done by Sir Joshua Reynolds. It shows Elizabeth as a young mother, leaning  affectionately and protectively over one of  her children. It is a Madonna-like pose, but there is enough animation in the face to avoid blandness, and the chin is very determined.       There are also several small, monochrome prints showing her in middle age, when she was married to her second husband, the Margrave of Ansbach. Margravine of Anspach. Engraving published by Richard Phillips 1803. This one appears to be based on a sketch, and was used in a biographical article about her that appeared in a periodical in 1803. The features, shown in three-quarter view, are very clear, and correspond fairly well with earlier portraits, as does the long neck. The expression is cheerful and good-humoured. H...