Eliza Fletcher

Dorothy McMillan (University of Glasgow)

Ed. by Janet Todd, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

Born 15 Jan 1770
Died 5 Feb 1858
Activity 1825-1857

Places

Born in England
Active in England; Scotland

Activities

Primary

Autobiographer
Letter-writer/ Diarist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Fletcher's Works

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Eliza Fletcher’s

Autobiography

is a great illuminator of herself, her contemporaries and her period. She was born Eliza Dawson at Oxton, near Tadcaster in Yorkshire, on 15 January 1770. Her mother died shortly after Eliza’s birth, yet in spite of this her childhood and youth, during which she was cared for by her father and his mother, were very happy. In 1787 the Dawsons were visited by a school friend of Eliza’s with her husband, Mr Meliss. Meliss was on his way from Perth to London to give evidence before the Commons’ Committee on Burgh Reform and was accompanied by Archibald Fletcher, an Edinburgh lawyer, known for his liberal opinions. The Dawsons were Whigs and Eliza’s background was, therefore, such as to make her open to Fletcher’s ardent expression of his beliefs.…

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878 words

Citation: McMillan, Dorothy. "Eliza Fletcher". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2003; last revised 02 March 2019. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1562, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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