Fanny Kemble as a young girl

Frances Anne Kemble (Fanny Kemble) (1809 - 1893), the actress and author, was Charles Kemble's elder daughter; she was born in London, and educated chiefly in France. Image File history File links Frances_Anne_Kemble_-_adapted_from_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16478. ... Image File history File links Frances_Anne_Kemble_-_adapted_from_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16478. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ... Charles Kemble (November 25, 1775 - November 12, 1854) was a British actor. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

She first appeared on the stage on October 26, 1829 as Juliet at Covent Garden. Her attractive personality at once made her a great favorite, her popularity enabling her father to recoup his losses as a manager. She played all the principal women's parts, notably Portia, Beatrice and Lady Teazle, but Julia in James Sheridan Knowles's The Hunchback, especially written for her, was perhaps her greatest success. October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Juliet is: A fictional character in William Shakespeares play Romeo and Juliet. ... Covent Garden is a district in central London and within the easterly bounds of the City of Westminster. ... Portia is a fictional character, the heroine of William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice. ... The School for Scandal, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners. ... James Sheridan Knowles (May 12, 1784 - November 30, 1862), Irish dramatist and actor, was born in Cork. ...

In 1832 she went with her father to the United States. In 1834, she married Pierce Butler, the heir of one of the largest slaveholders in Georgia. When the couple married, he was not a slaveholder, but by the time their two daughters, Sarath and Frances were born, Pierce Butler had inherited his grandfather's property and took his wife with him to his sea island plantations during the winter of 1838-39. Fanny was shocked by the conditions of slaves and their treatment. She tried to better their conditions and complained to her husband about slavery. When she left his plantations in the spring of 1839, debates about slavery and marital tensions continued. The couple were divorced in 1849, and Pierce Butler maintained custody of the two daughters until they came of age. Fanny was reunited with each of her girls when they turned twenty-one. Butler died on his plantation shortly after the Civil War. Neither he nor Fanny ever remarried. 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In 1847, Fanny returned to the stage. She had retired upon her marriage, but needed to find a way to support herself following her separation and then divorce from Butler. Later, following her father's example, Fanny Kemble appeared with much success as a Shakespearean reader, touring from Massachusetts to Michigan, from Chicago to Washington, winning new audiences to the Bard. She had kept a diary about her life on the Georgia plantation, which was circulated among abolitionists prior to the American Civil War, and was published both in England and the United States once the war broke out. She continued to be outspoken on the subject of slavery, and often donated money from her readings for charitable causes. 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert Edward Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

Her daughter Sarah, met and fell in love with a doctor, Owen Wister. Sarah and Owen had a one child a son, Owen Wister, Jr. Fanny's grandson became the popular American novelist, Owen Wister, author of The Virginian (1902) and other novels. Owen Wister, author of the Western novel, The Virginian and friend of Theodore Roosevelt Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer of western novels. ... The Virginian was a pioneering Wild West (see also Frontier and Western movie) novel by the American author Owen Wister, published in 1902. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Her daughter Fan met and fell in love with British minister James Leigh. The couple had one daughter, Alice, who was with her grandmother Fanny when she died in England in 1893.

In 1877, Fanny returned to England, where she lived using her maiden name till her death. During this period Fanny Kemble was a prominent and popular figure in the social life of London. She became a great friend and inspiration for Henry James during her later years. 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Besides her plays, Francis the First 1832, The Star of Seville (1837), a volume of Poems (1844), and a book of Italian travel, A Year of Consolation (1847). She published a first volume of memoir Journal in 1835, and in 1863 another Journal of Residence on a Georgian Plantation (dealing with life on the Georgia plantation), and also a volume of Plays, including translations from Alexandre Dumas, père and Friedrich Schiller. These were followed by Records of a Girlhood (1878), Records of Later Life (1882), Notes on some of Shakespeare's Plays (1882), Far Away and Long Ago (1889), and Further Records (1891). 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... A plantation is an intentional planting of a crop, on a larger scale, usually for uses other than cereal production or pasture. ... Alexandre Dumas, père. ... Friedrich Schiller Schiller redirects here. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Her various volumes of reminiscences contain much valuable material for the social and dramatic history of the period.

Publications

All available through the Harvard University Library Open Collections Program, a fully searchable online database.

• Journal of a residence on a Georgian plantation in 1838-1839. New York: Harper & Bros., 1863.

• Record of a girlhood. London: R. Bentley and Son, 1878.

• Records of later life. New York: H. Holt and Co., 1882.

• Further Records, 1848-1883: a series of letters. London: R. Bentley and Son, 1890.

External links

• Harvard University Library Open Collections Program. Women Working, 1870-1930, Fanny Kemble (1809-1893). A full-text searchable online database with complete access to publications written by Fanny Kemble.
• Pierce Butler, Fanny Kemble, et al. by Gilbert Wesley Purdy. This book review/essay includes considerable biographical information on Fanny Kemble.
• Enslavement:The True Story of Fanny Kemble - 1999 - TV, based on: Fanny Kemble: Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839. (ISBN 0-8203-0707-6)
• Works by Fanny Kemble at Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ...

See also

• History of slavery in the United States
• Slavery
• The Demon-Haunted World