Dorothea Celesia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dorothea Celesia
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Title page of Dorothea Celesia's Indolence; a poem (London: Becket, 1772; Internet Archive).
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| Born | Dorothea Mallet baptised on 11 Oct. 1738 baptised at Chiswick, Middlesex |
| Died | September 1790 Genoa |
| Pen name | "A lady" |
| Occupation | writer |
| Language | English |
| Notable work | Almida, a Tragedy (1771) |
| Spouse | Pietro Paolo Celesia |
| Relatives | David Mallet (father); Susanna Mallet (mother) |
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Dorothea Celesia (born 1738, died 1790) was a talented writer from England. She wrote poems and plays. She is most famous for her play Almida. This play was her own version of a French play by Voltaire. It was special because it focused a lot on the main female character, Almida.
Her Life and Famous Plays
Dorothea Mallet was born in 1738. Her father, David Mallet, was also a well-known writer. She learned at home. In 1758, she married Pietro Paolo Celesia. He was an ambassador from Genoa to England. An ambassador is like a country's representative in another country.
In 1759, Dorothea moved to Genoa with her husband. She lived there for the rest of her life. A famous actor and theater manager, David Garrick, visited her in Italy. He liked her play, Almida.
Garrick decided to put on Almida at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. The play first opened on January 1, 1771. It was very popular and ran for ten nights. This made Dorothea Celesia famous for a short time.
Her version of Almida was special. The original play by Voltaire was about a warrior named Tancred. But Dorothea changed the story. She made the main character, Almida, the most important. Almida strongly showed her right to choose her own husband.
Dorothea Celesia's second important work was a long poem. It was called Indolence and came out in 1772. She also planned to translate another play by Voltaire, called Sémiramis. However, this translation was never finished.
Another writer, Mary Scott, praised Dorothea Celesia. Mary Scott wrote a book called The Female Advocate in 1775. This book celebrated many female writers and thinkers of that time.
