Charlotte Lennox (1720-1804)
Charlotte Lennox (whose full name was Charlotte Ramsay Lennox) was a noted British poet and writer during the 18th century. Although she had a long and prolific career as a writer of prose, poetry and drama, she is most remembered for her work, The Female Quixote. She is also known for her associations with many other prominent British writers of the time such as Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, and Samuel Richardson.
The details surrounding Lennox's date and place of birth are quite vague but it is thought that she was born in Gibraltar some time in the year 1730. Born to a Scottish captain who was assigned to the British Navy, James Ramsay and to a Scottish-Irish mother, Charlotte Lennox was christened Barbara Ramsay shortly after birth.
Because many of the details surrounding her early life were somewhat sketchy, many biographers have studied her earliest works in the hopes of extracting details that seemed semi-autobiographical in nature. It appeared that Lennox stayed in New York from 1738 to 1742 and at the end of that period while still only fifteen years of age, she moved to London to serve as a companion to one Mary Luckyn who was a widow. In those days the designation of "companion" meant someone who would perform many of the same tasks as a servant but would have considerably more privileges.
The employment arrangement failed to materialise, however, as upon Lennox's arrival in London, she found that her prospective employer had succumbed to mental illness. Lady Isabella Finch then took Charlotte Lennox in the same capacity as companion.
The relationship between the two women proved to be quite an amicable one as evidenced by Lennox's dedication of her first volume of poetry to the Lady Finch. Entitled Poems on Several Occasions this work was published in the year 1747.
All signs pointed to Charlotte Lennox having a future position in the court but these plans were abandoned upon her marriage to Alexander Lennox. Alexander was a Scot who seemed to always have some difficulty maintaining steady employment. In fact, his longest occupation was as an employee of the customs office, which lasted from 1773 to 1782.
Even this position was uncharitably said to be due more to the Duke of Newcastle's high regard for Charlotte Lennox than any outstanding capability on Alexander's part. Alexander Lennox also attempted to claim hereditary lineage to the Earl of Lennox in 1768 but his claims were quashed by the House of Lords as holding no merit.
Charlotte Lennox herself attempted to begin a career as an actor in 1750 although she failed to have any significant success in this field. She did however receive a benefit night in the production of The Mourning Bride, which was held in Haymarket Theatre. She had considerably more success in the literary world with her most famous poem, The Art of Coquetry being published in Gentleman's Magazine that very same year. It was with her second novel The Female Quixote however that Lennox achieved the most acclaim.
Charlotte Lennox died on January 4th, 1804.Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 16/05/2008
