Mary Davys

Mary Davys (1674–1732) was a novelist and playwright.

Life account

Born in Ireland, she married Peter Davys, master of the free school of St Patrick's, Dublin, and had two daughters both of whom seem to have died in infancy. After being widowed she moved to London in 1700 in order to make a living.

She published The Amours of Alcippus and Lucippe in 1704 but did not have a second publication until The Northern Heiress, a comedy critical of the marriage market. Initially produced in York in 1715, it debuted in London in 1716 at Lincoln's Inn Fields and she bought a coffeehouse in Cambridge with the proceeds and to support herself.

Davys is best known, however, for her novels: The Reform'd Coquet is a successful early example of the novel of education, and her Familiar Letters, an epistolary novel which satirised the upper classes, preceded those of Richardson. Her writing is often direct, even blunt: for example, the main character in The accomplish'd rake, a debauched womanizer, is presented without euphemism. She was attacked in The Grub-Street Journal in 1731 for being "bawdy" but she "replied with vigour."^[1] She lived in Cambridge until her death after a period of ill health.

Works

Plays

• The Northern Heiress, or, The Humours of York (1715)
• The Self-Rival (Works, 1725)

Prose

• Amours of Alcipus and Lucippe (1704; revised as The Lady's Tale in 1725)
• The Fugitive (1705; revised as The Merry Wanderer in 1725)
• The Reform'd Coquet, or, Memoirs of Amoranda (1724)
• Familiar letters betwixt a gentleman and lady (Works, 1725)
• The accomplish'd rake, or, Modern fine gentleman (1727)
• The Cousins

Poetry

• The Modern Poet (Works, 1725)

Footnotes

1. ^ Blain et al. 272

References

• Backscheider, Paula R.. “Davys, Mary (1674–1732).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. 16 November 2006.
• "Davys, Mary." The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Virginia Blain et al., eds. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1990. 271-272.

Persondata
Name	Davys, Mary
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1674
Place of birth
Date of death	1732
Place of death

This article about a British dramatist or playwright is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 1674 births 1732 deaths Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish novelists Irish women writers 18th-century women writers Women dramatists and playwrights Women novelists British dramatist and playwright stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Chris Marsh List of religious leaders in 1837 Look at other dictionaries: The Reform'd Coquet — The Reform d Coquet, alternately titled The Memoirs of Amoranda, is a novella, about 70 pages long, written by Mary Davys and published in 1724. It is an important work in helping to establish the form of the novel, as dramas were the dominant… …   Wikipedia 1732 in literature — The year 1732 in literature involved some significant events and new books.Events* The first edition of Poor Richard s Almanac , by Benjamin Franklin, is published. * Alexander Pope begins Essay on Man , with the first two Epistles: Of the Nature …   Wikipedia List of women writers — compactTOC NOTOC A* Eleanor Hallowell Abbott * Louise Abeita * Abiola Abrams * Kathy Acker * Juliette Adam * Abigail Adams * Stephanie Adams (born 1970), American author. * Fleur Adcock (born 1935) * Yda Addis * Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie * Renata… …   Wikipedia List of women novelists before Jane Austen — Dale Spender laid the groundwork for this list in her classic Mothers of the Novel: 100 good women writers before Jane Austen (1986) (names on Spender s original list are indicated with an asterisk [*] ). The Novelists * Penelope Aubin* * Jane… …   Wikipedia List of early-modern women poets (UK) — This is an alphabetical list of female poets who were active in the United Kingdom before approximately 1800. (NB. Poetry is the focus of this list, though many of these writers worked in more than one genre). A C* Eliza Acton (1799 1859) * Jean… …   Wikipedia List of early-modern women playwrights (UK) — This is a chronological list of women playwrights who were active in the United Kingdom before approximately 1800, with a brief indication of productivity. (NB. Drama is the focus of this list, though many of these writers worked in more than one …   Wikipedia 1725 in literature — The year 1725 in literature involved some significant events and new books.Events*Émilie de Breteuil marries Marquis Florent Claude du Chastellet. *Death of Peter the Great of Russia. *Charles Killigrew dies, after 48 years in the office of the… …   Wikipedia 1704 in literature — The year 1704 in literature involved some significant events.Events* Battle of Blenheim * The capture of Gibraltar during the War of the Spanish Succession by British and Dutch troops, allies of Archduke Charles, the Austrian pretender to the… …   Wikipedia 1705 in literature — The year 1705 in literature involved some significant events.Events*William Somervile inherits his father s estate, where his participation in field sports will furnish the material for much of his poetry. *Richard Steele marries wealthy widow… …   Wikipedia 1716 in literature — The year 1716 in literature involved some significant events.Events*Anne Lefèvre, Madame Dacier, meets Antoine Houdar de la Motte in person. *Voltaire is exiled to Tulle. *Poet John Byrom returns to England to teach his own system of shorthand.… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”