Eliza Fay facts for kids

Eliza Fay (born around 1755 or 1756, died 1816) was an English writer known for her amazing letters. These letters shared exciting stories about her travels and experiences in Europe and places like Egypt and India.

Eliza Fay's Early Life

Eliza was born in 1755 or 1756, likely in a place called Rotherhithe, England. Her father, Edward Clement, built ships. Not much is known about her family, but she had two sisters.

In 1772, Eliza married Anthony Fay, who was a lawyer. He planned to work in Calcutta, India. In 1779, they started their journey to India. However, their marriage didn't last, and they separated in 1781. They did not have any children together.

Exciting Journeys to India

Eliza Fay's detailed letters begin in Paris in 1779. Her journey was full of adventures! She traveled across the Alps mountains, then by sea to Egypt. After that, she crossed deserts in Egypt with a group of travelers, but they were attacked by bandits.

When she finally reached Calicut in India, she and her husband were held captive by Hyder Ali, the King of Mysore. Luckily, they escaped with help from a kind merchant. They finally arrived in Calcutta in May 1780.

Eliza's Observations in India

Eliza's letters show she was a great storyteller. E. M. Forster, a famous writer who later edited her letters, said she wrote "delightfully malicious" descriptions of people. Eliza was interested in the lives of the Indian people around her and wrote many details about them. She also quickly learned languages like Italian, Portuguese, and Hindustani.

During her first time in Calcutta, Eliza met important people like Warren Hastings. However, her husband's behavior might have caused some problems for her.

Financial Challenges and More Travels

After separating from her husband in 1781, Eliza returned to England. She traveled through Madras and St Helena. She went back to India in 1784. This time, she supported herself by opening a shop that sold hats and by making dresses. She faced financial difficulties in 1788 but kept working and paid off her debts by 1793.

Eliza continued to observe Indian society. She wrote about a custom called Suttee, where a widow would join her husband on his funeral pyre. She believed it was a custom meant to encourage wives to care for their husbands.

More bad luck followed her. In 1786, her business partner and her husband's son drowned at sea. Eliza returned to England in 1794. She inherited some property but faced more financial problems and had to deal with debt again in 1800.

Her third trip to Calcutta in 1796 lasted only six months. She bought another ship filled with muslin fabric to sell in the United States, but the ship sank near the Hooghly. She still managed to reach New York City in 1797.

Later Life and School

In 1804, Eliza sailed to Calcutta again. The next year, she returned to England with 14 children! She opened a school in Blackheath with a partner, Maria Cousins. They ran the school until 1814.

Eliza made one last trip to Calcutta. There, she started getting her letters ready to be published. She passed away in Calcutta in 1816 at the age of 60.

Eliza Fay's Published Letters

When Eliza Fay died, she didn't have much money. Her valuable letters were among her few possessions. A collection of her letters from her first two voyages was published in 1817. This book actually made some money for those she owed.

Later, in 1925, E. M. Forster created a new, more complete edition of her letters. This version was published by Hogarth Press. In 2010, this edition was printed again with a new introduction by Simon Winchester.

See also

• Women letter writers

Additional reading

• Linda Colley, "Going Native, Telling Tales: Captivity, Collaborations and Empire", Past & Present, No. 168 (2000), pp. 170–193. Accessed 8 February 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/651308
• Matthew Lockwood, "The birth of British India". To Begin the World Over Again: How the American Revolution Devastated the Globe, pp. 274–313. New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 2019. Accessed 8 February 2021. doi:10.2307/j.ctvnwc044.15.
• Mohamad Ali Hachicho, "English Travel Books about the Arab near East in the Eighteenth Century". Die Welt des Islams, New Series 9, no. 1/4 (1964), pp. 1–206. Accessed 8 February 2021.