This is a chronological list of women playwrights who were active in England and Wales , and the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland before approximately 1800, with a brief indication of productivity.
Aphra Behn , Restoration playwright, by Peter Lely
Playwrights [ edit ]
Nota Bene : In cases where an author's date of birth is unknown, their period of professional activity has been used.
Katherine of Sutton (abbess 1358–1376): rewrote several mystery plays
Jane Lumley (1537–1578): first translator of Euripides into English
Mary Sidney Herbert (1561–1621): translated one play
Elizabeth Cary (1585–1639): wrote first original play in English by a woman
Mary Wroth (1587–1652): primarily a poet; one drama extant
Rachel Bourchier (Countess of Bath, née Fane; 1613–1680): wrote masques
Jane Cavendish (1620/21–1669): co-authored a pastoral masque with her sister, Elizabeth Egerton
Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673): author of closet dramas
Elizabeth Egerton (1626–1663): co-authored a pastoral masque with her sister, Jane Cavendish
Katherine Philips (1631–1664): mainly a poet; author of two plays (one unfinished)
Aphra Behn (1640–1689): usually credited with being the first female professional playwright in English
Elizabeth Polwheele (c. 1651 – c. 1691): two plays extant
Anne Wharton (née Lee; 1659-1685): poet and verse dramatist
Anne Finch (1661–1720): primarily a poet; author of verse dramas
Delarivier Manley (1663 or c. 1670–1724): playwright
Mary Pix (1666–1709): playwright
Susannah Centlivre (c. 1667–1723): playwright
Frances Boothby (fl. 1669–1670): author of the first original play by a woman to be produced in London
Mary Davys (1674–1732): novelist; produced one play; had another published
Penelope Aubin (c. 1679 – c. 1731): primarily a novelist; had one play produced
Catherine Trotter (1679–1749): playwright
Jane Wiseman (fl. c. 1682–1717): author of one produced play
Mary Wortley Montagu (c. 1689–1762): wrote primarily in other genres
Eliza Haywood (1693–1756): playwright; wrote primarily in other genres
Ariadne (fl. 1694-95): pseudonym of unknown author of She Ventures and He Wins
Elizabeth Cooper (née Price) (1698? – 1761?): actress, playwright, and poet
Elizabeth Boyd (c. 1710 – 1745): wrote one play; wrote primarily in other genres
Catherine Clive (1711–1785): actress; wrote farces with some success
Charlotte Charke (1713–1760): playwright/actress/manager
Eglantine Wallace (née Maxwell; died 1803): comedies and tragedy
Charlotte Lennox (1720–1804): wrote primarily in other genres; two plays (one an adaptation)
Frances Brooke (1723–1789): primarily a novelist; wrote comic opera
Frances Sheridan (1724–1766): playwright
Mary Latter (1725–1777): one tragedy produced
Elizabeth Griffith (c. 1727 – 1793): playwright
Charlotte Lennox (c. 1727 – 1804): playwright; primarily a novelist
Jael Pye (née Mendez) (c. 1737 – 1782): published four works, each in a different genre
Dorothea Celesia (baptised 1738, d. 1790): translated Voltaire 's Tancrède
Hannah Cowley (1743–1809): playwright and poet
Hannah More (1745–1833): playwright; published in many genres
Mary Bowes (1749–1800): published one play
Charlotte Smith (1749–1806): novelist and poet; one comedy attributed to her
Elizabeth Craven (1750–1828): writer of farces and pantomimes
Sophia Lee (1750–1824): playwright
Frances Burney (1752–1840): primarily a novelist; author of several plays, only one produced in her lifetime
Sophia Burrell (1753–1802): author of two tragedies
Elizabeth Inchbald (1753–1821): playwright
Ann Yearsley (c. 1753 – 1806): primarily a poet; produced and published one play
Hannah Brand (1754–1821): published playwright
Margaret Holford (1757–1834): one play produced
Harriet Lee (1757–1851): playwright
Mary Robinson (1757–1800): wrote primarily in other genres; one play produced
Jane West (1758–1852): wrote primarily in other genres
Anne Plumptre (1760–1818): wrote primarily in other genres; translated dramas
Elizabeth Kemble (1761–1836): known for acting
Mariana Starke (1761/2–1838): author of four plays, not all produced; mainly a travel writer
Joanna Baillie (1762–1851): prolific playwright
Susanna Rowson (née Haswell) (1762–1824): British-American novelist, poet, playwright
Jean Marishall (Jane Marshall) (fl. 1765–1788): one play
Fanny Robertson (1765-1855): actor-manager, author of at least two plays
Barbarina Brand (1768–1854): author of four published plays, one produced
Anna Ross (b. 1773): performer; wrote comic opera
Frances Burney (1776–1828): published two unproduced tragedies
Jane Porter (1776–1850): two plays
Margaret Holford (1778–1852): one play, neither published nor produced
Jane Scott (1779–1839): theatre manager, actor, and playwright
Mary Russell Mitford (1787–1855): playwright
Felicia Hemans (1793–1835): primarily a poet; some verse drama
Catherine Gore (1799–1861): eleven plays produced
Catherine Crowe (1800–1876): primarily a fiction writer; two plays, one produced
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861): primarily a poet; one closet drama and one translation
Elizabeth Polack (fl. 1830–1838): author of five plays, three surviving
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Blain, Virginia, et al., eds. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English . New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1990. (Internet Archive )
Buck, Claire, ed.The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature . Prentice Hall, 1992. (Internet Archive )
Chadwyck-Healey Database of English Prose Drama (through 1750 ) and (1750–1939 )
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford: OUP, 2004.
Robertson, Fiona, ed. Women's Writing, 1778–1838 . Oxford: OUP, 2001. (Internet Archive )
Schlueter, Paul, and June Schlueter. An encyclopedia of British women writers . Rutgers University Press, 1998. (Internet Archive )
Todd, Janet , ed. British Women Writers: a critical reference guide . London: Routledge, 1989. (Internet Archive )
External links [ edit ]