Anna Cora Mowatt

Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie
Portrait of Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie, c. 1840–1860
Portrait of Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie, c. 1840–1860
Born(1819-03-05)March 5, 1819
Bordeaux, France
DiedJuly 21, 1870(1870-07-21) (aged 51)
Twickenham, England
Pen name
  • "Isabel"
  • "Henry C. Browning"
  • "Helen Berkley"
OccupationPlaywright, actress
Notable worksFashion
Spouses
  • James Mowatt
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1834; died 1851)​
  • William Foushee Ritchie
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1853; died 1868)​

Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie (née, Ogden; after first marriage, Mowatt; after second marriage, Ritchie; pseudonyms, Isabel, Henry C. Browning, and Helen Berkley; March 5, 1819 – July 21, 1870) was a French-born American author, playwright, public reader, actress, and preservationist. Her best known work was the play Fashion, published in 1845. Following her critical success as a playwright, she enjoyed a successful career on stage as an actress. Her Autobiography of an Actress was published in 1853. Anna Cora Mowatt played a central role in lobbying and fundraising during the early years of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States.

Childhood

Anna Cora Ogden was born in Bordeaux, France, on March 5, 1819.[1] She was the tenth of fourteen children. Her father was Samuel Gouveneur Ogden (1779–1860), an American merchant. Her mother was Eliza Lewis Ogden (1785–1836), granddaughter of Francis Lewis, a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence. In 1826, when Anna was six years old, the Ogden family returned to the United States.[2] She attended private schools but was primarily educated at home. From a young age she was encouraged to read and showed a passion for writing and acting.

Career

"A Woman of the Century"

On October 6, 1834, at age 15, Anna Cora Ogden eloped with James Mowatt (1805–1851), a New York lawyer. They moved to an estate in Flatbush, New York, where her husband encouraged her to continue her education and to write.[3] She wrote of her elopement:

What could a girl of fifteen know of the sacred duties of a wife? With what eyes could she comprehend the new and important life she was entering? She had known nothing but childhood–had scarcely commenced her girlhood. What could she comprehend of the trials, the cares, the hopes, the responsibilities of womanhood? I thought of none of these things. I had always been lighthearted to the point of frivolity. I usually made a jest of everything–yet I did not look on this matter as a frolic. I only remembered I was keeping a promise. I had perfect faith in the tenderness of him to whom I confided myself. I did not in the least realize the novelty of my situation.[4]

Anna Cora Mowatt's first book, Pelayo, or The Cavern of Covadonga, was published in 1836, then Reviewers Reviewed in 1837 using the pseudonym "Isabel".[5] She wrote articles which were published in Graham's Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book and other periodicals. She wrote a six-act play, Gulzara, which was published in New World. Under the pseudonym Henry C. Browning, she wrote a biography of Goethe. Using the pseudonym "Helen Berkley", she wrote two novels: The Fortune Hunter and Evelyn. Evelyn is written in the epistolary style.[2] In 1841, due to financial problems, Anna became a public reader. Her first performance was attended by Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote of her, "A more radiantly beautiful smile is quite impossible to conceive."[4] Her readings were popular and well attended, but her career as a reader was short lived due to respiratory problems. While recovering from her illness, she returned to her writing.

Engraving of Anna Cora Mowatt as Beatrice in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

In 1845, her best-known work, the play Fashion[6] was published. It received rave reviews and opened at the Park Theatre, New York, on March 24, 1845. On June 13, 1845, she made another career move to acting, she debuted at the Park Theatre as Pauline in The Lady of Lyons with great success.[7] Although her next play, Armand, was published in 1847, and also received good reviews, she continued in her acting career. She performed leading roles in Shakespeare (for instance, in a production of Cymbeline in London, 1843), melodramas, and her own plays. She toured the United States and Europe for the next eight years.[2]

On February 15, 1851, her husband, James Mowatt died. After a short break she resumed her acting career. In December 1853, her book Autobiography of an Actress was published. Anna Cora Mowatt's last appearance on the public stage was June 3, 1854.[4]

Contributions

Anna Cora Mowatt was an important figure in American Theater and had a significant impact in a variety of ways. More attention needs to be called to her cultural influence, innovation and the role she played in shaping public perceptions of female performers. Her contributions were historically significant.

Fashion (1845) is known for being one of the earliest American social comedies to critique class structure in the United States. The play was not for entertaining audiences; it served as satire of upper-class pretension. Fashion showed the imitations of European aristocratic culture among American elites. Combining humor with social critique, Mowatt contributed to the development of American theatrical voices during a time when the stage was mostly influenced by European traditions. Fashion was not only popular, but also culturally meaningful in shaping early American drama.

In addition to her work as a playwright, Mowatt's acting career challenged existing social attitudes toward women in theatre. During the mid-nineteenth century, actresses were viewed with suspicion and associated with moral questioning[8]. She created a public identity that worked against stereotypes of actresses as questionable[9]. Mowatt presented herself as an educated, respectable, and socially responsible public figure. She framed her acting as intellectual instead of entertainment. Her self-presentation helped make acting a profession for women and gained public acceptance of female performers.

Mowatt's personation to maneuver cultural expectations allowed her to be respected when performing publicly. This concept allowed acting to become a form of literary expression for women of the time. Mowatt constructed her public identity through performance and writing, showing she understood celebrity image management[10].

Mowatt's interaction with specific movements developed her public image. Her association with mesmerism, explored by Lehman[11], linked her to discussions on psychology and science. Her association enhanced her reputation as an intellectual and performer. She illustrated how figures within theater could participate in deeper cultural conversations.

Sources such as The Phrenological Journal[12] show how Mowatt was perceived during her lifetime as a significant figure. Mowatt's contributions were recognized by her contemporaries.

Later years

On June 7, 1854, Anna married William Foushee Ritchie (1813– 1877), son of Thomas Ritchie. Their wedding was a lavish affair, attended by President of the United States, Franklin Pierce and his Cabinet.[2] During the next few years she wrote two more novels, Mimic Life, published in 1855 and Twin Roses, published in 1857. She played a prominent role in raising funds for the preservation of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon,[2] serving as secretary of the Central Committee of the early Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.[13] Anna left her husband in 1860 and moved to Europe. She wrote the novel Mute Singer, published in 1861. She wrote Fairy Fingers, published in 1865. In 1865, she moved to England, where she wrote The Clergyman's Wife, and Other Sketches in 1867. Anna Cora Ogden Mowatt Ritchie died in Twickenham, England, on July 21, 1870. She is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London, beside her first husband, James Mowatt.[2]

References

  1. ^ Kunitz, Stanley; Haycraft, Howard (1938). American Authors, 1600–1900: A Biographical Dictionary of American Literature. H. W. Wilson Company. pp. 549–550. OCLC 1145778556.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Anna Cora Mowatt". The Lady Actress: The Life and Career of Anna Cora Mowatt by Dr. Kelly S. Taylor.
  3. ^ Rodríguez & Carrión 2004, p. 85.
  4. ^ a b c "Anna Cora Mowatt". Perspectives in American Literature.
  5. ^ "Portraits of American Women Writers". Anna Cora Mowatt. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  6. ^ "Fashion". American Literature. Archived from the original on February 13, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  7. ^ "Anna Cora Mowatt". A Glimpse of Theater History. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
  8. ^ "[Search results]". Internet Archive. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  9. ^ Keetley, Dawn (September 1, 1996). "The power of "personation": Actress Anna Cora Mowatt and the literature of women's public performance in nineteenth-century America". ATQ. 10 (3): 187 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ Taylor, Kelly S. (October 1996). "Exploiting the medium: Anna Cora Mowatt's creation of self through performance". Text and Performance Quarterly. 16 (4): 321–335. doi:10.1080/10462939609366157. ISSN 1046-2937.
  11. ^ Lehman, Amy (May 2002). "'Call Me Gypsy' — Anna Cora Mowatt and Mesmerism". Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film. 29 (1): 49–65. doi:10.7227/NCTF.29.1.4. ISSN 1748-3727.
  12. ^ "Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie". The Phrenological Journal. 51 (5): 308. November 1870.
  13. ^ Barnes, Eric Wollencott (1954). The Lady of Fashion: The Life and the Theatre of Anna Cora Mowatt. New York: Scribner. pp. 342–343.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Taylor, Kelly S. (2001). "The Creation of a Public Persona in the Poetry of Anna Cora Mowatt". American Periodicals. 11: 65–80. ISSN 1054-7479. JSTOR 20771139.
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