Maria Barrell facts for kids

Maria Barrell (who was born Maria Weylar) was a talented writer. She was a poet, a playwright, and wrote for magazines. Maria lived in a time when people could be put in prison for not paying their debts. She experienced this herself and wrote about how hard it was. She even asked the government to change the laws. Maria faced money problems for most of her life. She sadly passed away in Newgate Prison while waiting to be sent to Australia.

Maria's Early Life

Maria Barrell said she was born in the West Indies. But it seems she spent her younger years in England. In 1763, she moved to a place called Grenada. Ten years later, she married Theodore Barrell. They had a son named William and a daughter.

In 1777, Maria and Theodore were in America. People thought they supported the British during the American Revolutionary War. Maria was allowed to leave Boston to see her daughter in England. But she was not allowed to go back to America. This meant she had to be separated from her husband.

By 1782, Maria was living in London. She wrote for different magazines and signed her work as 'Maria'.

Facing Debt and Writing for Change

Maria Barrell was put in prison because of debt in the 1780s. She tried to get money back for things she lost during the American War. She made claims in 1784 and 1790, but she did not get any money.

King's Bench Prison was a prison for debtors in London.

While she was in King's Bench Prison, Maria wrote a powerful piece called British Liberty Vindicated. This was in 1788. In her writing, she called herself an "unfortunate loyalist." She said she was facing "perpetual imprisonment," meaning she felt like she would be in prison forever. Her poem praised British freedom. But it also asked for better rights for people who owed money. She wrote about how useless it was to keep people in prison for debt.

Maria's play The Captive was written in 1790. She dedicated it to the Prince of Wales. She was still living in King's Bench Prison when she wrote it. In the play's introduction, she said she was writing from "the gloomy walls of a prison." Maria compared her feelings of being trapped to the Storming of the Bastille in France. She wanted people to ask the government to change the laws. She believed that people who owed money should be able to work to pay back their debts. She also said that being in prison for a long time made it hard for people to work later. The play tells the story of a soldier who is starving in prison. His wife outside cannot help him. The play shows how being in debt was seen as a terrible crime. But often, it happened just because of bad luck. This play was never performed. However, it shows how women like Maria tried to earn money by writing plays. It was also a way to find someone important to support their work.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1791, Maria married James Makitterick Adair. But their marriage did not last long. Adair married someone else the next year.

Later, Maria faced more serious legal problems. In 1801, she was found guilty of a crime related to money in Fleet Street. She was sentenced to one year in prison. In 1803, she was found guilty of a similar crime again. This time, she faced a very serious punishment. But she received a special pardon from the King. Her punishment was changed to being sent to New South Wales in Australia. Sadly, Maria Barrell passed away in Newgate Prison before she could leave.

Works

• Reveries du Coeur: Or, Feelings of the Heart. Attempted in Verse (1770)
• British Liberty Vindicated; or, a Delineation of the King's Bench (1788)
• The Captive (1790)