Charlotte Ramsey Lennox (c. 1727 - January 4, 1804) was an English author and poet of the 18th century. In a time when women writers were ignored, her work attracted the interest of Samuel Johnson, Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson.

Life

Charlotte first became noted for her poetry when publishing Poems on Several Occasions in 1747. One of her most famous poems was The Art of Coquetry which appeared in Gentleman's Magazine in 1750. She was also an actress early on in her life, although critics were not swayed by her performances.

She wrote a total of 5 novels (although accurate information on her work is not available), the most famous of which was The Female Quixote (The Adventures of Arabella) in 1752. This book was notable because of its strong heroine, Arabella, and the strong detail towards women.

In 1753 she published Shakespear Illustrated, a piece of literary criticism, and also translated many works into English. From 1760 to 1761 she wrote for the periodical The Lady's Museum, which contained material which would eventually comprise her 1762 novel Sophia.

Despite her moderate literary success and advancement for women's literature during this part of the 17th century, she died in poverty in 1804.

Works

Poetry

• Poems on Several Occasions (1747)
• The Art of Coquetry (1750)

Novels

• The Life of Harriot Stuart (1751)
• The Female Quixote (1752)
• Henrietta (1758)
• Sophia (1762)
• Euphemia (1790)

Plays

• The Sister (1762)
• Old City Manners (1775)