Fanny Margaretta Holcroft facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fanny Margaretta Holcroft
Title page of Fanny Holcroft's Fortitude and Frailty; a novel (London: W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, 1817)
Born	February 21, 1780
Died	October 7, 1844, aged 64 40 Cumberland Street, Haggerston, London
Resting place	St Mary, Haggerston
Occupation	writer
Language	English
Parents	Thomas Holcroft (father); Dinah Robinson (mother)

Fanny Margaretta Holcroft (born 1780, died 1844) was an English writer. She wrote novels and plays, and she also translated books. Her father, Thomas Holcroft, was also a famous writer. Fanny lived during a time of big changes and revolutions, and her work often reflected these new ideas.

About Fanny Holcroft's Life

Fanny Margaretta Holcroft was the daughter of Thomas Holcroft. Her mother, Dinah Robinson, sadly passed away soon after Fanny was born. When Fanny was five years old, she was officially named "Fanny" during her baptism.

Growing Up in a Big Family

Fanny had three older half-siblings from her father's earlier marriages. Later, her father married again and had six more children. Even though her family often struggled with money, Fanny received a great education. She learned modern languages and studied different art forms.

Family and Politics

Fanny's father, Thomas Holcroft, knew many important thinkers of his time. These included people like Thomas Paine and William Godwin. Fanny shared her father's strong political beliefs. These beliefs were called Jacobin ideals. This meant they supported big social changes and more power for ordinary people. Because of these views, Fanny and her father sometimes faced public criticism.

Fanny passed away in London when she was sixty-four years old.

Fanny Holcroft's Writings

Fanny Holcroft started writing poetry when she was seventeen. Her poems appeared in a magazine called Monthly Magazine in 1797. Some of her early poems included "Annabella" and "The Penitent Mother." She also wrote an important poem called "The Negro," which spoke out against slavery. This type of writing is called abolitionist because it supports ending slavery.

Translations and Plays

From 1805 to 1806, Fanny translated seven plays. She translated them from German, Italian, and Spanish for her father's magazine, Theatrical Recorder. She also wrote at least one play of her own, which was a type of drama called a melodrama.

Fanny sometimes tried working as a teacher. Once, she lost a job as a governess because a newspaper falsely reported that her father was a French spy. She often wrote because she needed money to live.

Helping Her Father and Writing Novels

When her father was older and not well, Fanny helped him with his writing. She worked as his amanuensis, which means she wrote down what he dictated.

Later in her life, Fanny published two novels. Both of these books were dedicated to her father.

• Fortitude and Frailty (published in 1817)
• The Wife and the Lover (published in 1813–14)

These novels shared some of her father's ideas about improving society. They told stories about people's lives and suggested that being a good person and getting along with others were important.

List of Works

Poetry

• "Annabella" (1797)
• "The Negro" (1797)
• "The Penitent Mother" (1797)

Novels

• Fortitude and Frailty; a Novel (1817)
• The Wife and the Lover. A Novel (1813)

Translations

• Translated seven plays for her father's Theatrical Recorder (1805–6)
• Memoirs of the Life of the Great Condé (1807)

Drama

• Provided music for Thomas Holcroft's play The Lady of the Rock (1805)
• One play manuscript still exists