Mary Whateley facts for kids
Mary Darwall (born Mary Whateley; 1738 – 5 December 1825) was an English poet and playwright. She sometimes wrote under the name Harriett Airey. Mary was part of a group of writers called the Shenstone Circle. This group met around the writer William Shenstone in the English Midlands. Later, Mary wrote about topics like female friendship and the place of women writers.
Life as a Writer
Mary Whateley was born in Beoley, Worcestershire, in 1738. She came from a successful farming family. She was the youngest of nine children. Mary did not have much formal education. However, by 1759, her poems were being published. They appeared in The Gentleman's Magazine under the name Harriett Airey.
In 1760, Mary moved to Walsall in Staffordshire. She worked there as a housekeeper for her brother. In 1761, her poetry caught the attention of William Shenstone. He was very impressed with her writing. He said her poems showed she had "generous and delicate sentiments."
Her first book, Original Poems on Several Occasions, came out in 1764. It was published by Robert Dodsley. The book had 30 poems, including odes and hymns. It also included a poem called "The Power of Destiny." This poem wondered how different her life would be if she had been born a boy. Her book was very popular and was printed many times.
In her book's dedication, Mary bravely defended women writers. She wrote that she looked down on "prejudice" against women in literature. She also showed she was against negativity. She believed that "Reason, Truth, and Virtue" should guide everyone's steps.
In 1766, Mary Whateley married John Darwall. He was a clergyman who had lost his first wife and had five or six children. Mary and John then had six more children together. Even with a large family and helping her husband run a printing press, Mary kept writing.
She wrote hymns for her husband's church. One of her most famous hymns is the tune Darwall. It is often sung to the words "Rejoice, the Lord is King." This hymn appears in many hymnals today. Mary also wrote a play for a local theatre. Several of her poems were published in collections between 1770 and 1785. For example, her poem Liberty: An Elegy appeared in 1775 and again in 1783. Her poem "Female Friendship" was published in The Westminster Magazine in 1776. It explored the idea of selfless friendship between women.
After her husband died in 1789, Mary Darwall moved to Deritend, Birmingham. In 1793, she moved to Newtown in Montgomeryshire. From there, she published her second collection of poems in 1794. This book, Poems on Several Occasions, included some poems by others. These were likely two of her daughters. One daughter, Elizabeth, published her own book, The Storm, with Other Poems, in 1810. It is thought that Mary contributed four poems to Elizabeth's book.
Mary Darwall passed away in Walsall on 5 December 1825.
