Phebe Gibbes facts for kids

Phebe Gibbes (died 1805) was an English writer from the 1700s. She wrote many books and was an early supporter of women's rights. Between 1764 and 1790, she wrote twenty-two books. Some of her most famous novels include The History of Mr. Francis Clive (1764), The Fruitless Repentance; or, the History of Miss Kitty Le Fever (1769), and The History of Miss Eliza Musgrove (1769). Her book Hartly House Calcutta (1789) became popular again when it was published by scholars in 2007.

About Phebe Gibbes

It's hard to find much information about Phebe Gibbes' life. Most of what we know comes from a request she made for money in 1804. This was to the Royal Literary Fund, a group that helps writers.

Phebe Gibbes was a widow for most of her life. She married young and had two daughters and one son. It seems she spent some time in British India. This is because some of her novels, especially Hartly House, show she knew a lot about life in India at that time. Sadly, her son never came back from a military trip to India. This sad fact shows up in her later writing. For example, in Hartly House, she wrote that "the Eastern world is, as you pronounce it, the grave of thousands."

Phebe Gibbes faced extreme poverty because her father-in-law managed money very badly. He was a compulsive gambler. Because of this, many of Gibbes' novels show how much she disliked gambling and how important it is for parents to care for their children.

Her Writing Career

Becoming an Author

Phebe Gibbes started her writing career in 1764 with two books. One was the talked-about The Life and Adventures of Mr. Francis Clive. The other was History of Lady Louisa Stroud, and the Honorable Miss Caroline Stretton, which was a novel written as letters.

Three years later, she published two more novels. These were The Woman of Fashion; or, the History of Lady Diana Dormer (1767) and The History of Miss Pittsborough (1767). The Critical Review, a well-known magazine, praised Miss Pittsborough. They called it "chaste" and "virtuous."

In 1769, Gibbes published three more books: The History of Miss Somerville, The Fruitless Repentance; or, the History of Miss Kitty Le Fever, and The History of Miss Eliza Musgrove. The Critical Review also liked Miss Eliza Musgrove. They said Gibbes' writing was as good as other famous authors like Lennox, Brookes, and Scott.

Gibbes kept writing novels until Hartly House, Calcutta in 1789. She might have written more books in the 1790s, but it's not certain. Some of these books might also be by other writers.

In her 1804 request for money, Gibbes said she had written 22 books. However, only 14 of her novels can be found today. Like many writers of her time, she often wrote anonymously, meaning she didn't sign her name. But she did sign The Niece; or the History of Sukey Thornby (1788) as "Mrs. P. Gibbes."

Gibbes' writing gives detailed descriptions of her visits to India and America. She mentions the exact names of servants and the prices of items. This makes her work a useful resource for people who study India's history and culture.

Later in her life, Gibbes earned money by writing. She often described the fancy lifestyles of rich people at the time. But she also criticized how much people cared about owning things. She would describe beautiful, expensive items, but then have her main character reject that kind of life.

Speaking Out in Her Books

Phebe Gibbes often wrote about important issues of her time. These included child neglect, the lack of female education, greed, gambling, and being too focused on oneself. Many of her main characters, especially Sophia 'Goldborne', were very different from the greedy and indulgent people of that era. Yet, at the same time, they seemed to enjoy fancy things.

In one scene, Gibbes describes a very extravagant picture:

"The Europe shops... are those ware-houses where all the British finery imported is displayed and purchased; and such is the spirit of many ladies upon visiting them, that there have been instances of their spending 30 or 40,000 rupees [about 5000 pounds] in one morning, for the decoration of their persons; on which account many husbands are observed to turn pale as ashes, on the bare mention of their wives being seen to enter them: but controul is not a matrimonial rule at Calcutta; and the men are obliged to make the best of their conjugal mortifications.”

This scene shows her dislike for how materialistic some English women were. But it also shows that Gibbes saw a kind of power in women's ability to spend money and influence their husbands or fathers.

Gibbes is especially known for speaking out against the lack of good education for girls. She was inspired by the freer lives women had in America. Sometimes, people even thought she supported Republicanism, which meant more freedom for people.

In her book Friendship in a Nunnery; or, The American Fugitive, the main character is a fourteen-year-old American girl. She speaks and writes so well that the Critical Review didn't like the novel. They wrote, "what may not be expected from the old men and sages of [America], when its maidens, its babes and sucklings talk, write, and reason thus!" However, William Enfield, a respected writer, praised her novel. He said it had "so much truth… that it merits attention in an age, in which it is become too fashionable for females to receive the last finishing of their education in a convent."

It's also important to note how feminist her ideas were. For example, in her novel Elfrida, the main character Elfrida accidentally marries two people. And in Mr. ....., a household servant named Hannah dies in a shocking way. These surprising but believable situations made Gibbes' novels quite strong and direct for her time. It's clear she was an early feminist writer.

Her protests against unfair rules for men and women came almost forty years before later feminist writers like Mary Hays and Mary Wollstonecraft. There's no doubt that these later feminists were partly inspired by Phebe Gibbes. Wollstonecraft herself reviewed Gibbes' work and enjoyed it.

Selected Books by Phebe Gibbes

• The Life and Adventures of Mr. Francis Clive (1764)
• History of Lady Louisa Stroud, and the Honorable Miss Caroline Stretton (1764)
• The Woman of Fashion; or, the History of Lady Diana Dormer (1767)
• The History of Miss Pittsborough (1767)
• The History of Miss Somerville (1769)
• The Fruitless Repentance; or, the History of Miss Kitty Le Fever (1769)
• The History of Miss Eliza Musgrove (1769)
• Friendship in a Nunnery; or, The American Fugitive (1778)
• Elfrida; or Paternal Ambition (1786)
• Zoriada: or, Village Annals (1786) – It's not clear if this book is hers, as it was also linked to Anne Hughes.
• The Niece; or the History of Sukey Thornby (1788)
• Harty House, Calcutta (1789). This book was republished in 1908, and again in 1988/1989. The later edition was prepared by Monica Clough.
• Jemima: A Novel (1795) – It's not clear if this book is hers; it was printed as by 'the author of Zoriada: or, Village Annals.'
• Heaven’s Best Gifts (1798) – It's not clear if this book is hers, as it was also linked to ‘Mrs. Lucius Phillips’.