Maria Gisborne
Encyclopedia
Maria Gisborne was a friend of Mary
and Percy Bysshe Shelley
.
The daughter of an English merchant at Constantinople named James, was born in 1770, apparently in England. When she was eight years old, her mother, who had been left in poverty, resolved to rejoin her husband, and sailed for Constantinople
, where she was not welcome. James persuaded her to return to England by the promise of an annuity, but had his daughter stolen and concealed until her mother's departure. He then brought her up carefully. She showed a talent for painting, and grew up a beautiful and accomplished woman. Jeremy Bentham
met her at her father's house in 1785, accompanied her on the violin, and said that she was the only woman he had met who could keep time. She soon afterwards married William Reveley, an architect who had been travelling in Greece to make sketches for Sir Richard Worsley
. He contributed views in the Levant to the Museum Worsleyanum (1794), and in 1794 edited the third volume of James Stuart's Antiquities of Athens. The marriage was imprudent; and the Reveleys returned to England, where they lived on an income of 140l. a year.
She was the mother of two children before she was twenty. Reveley was a strong liberal, and became a friend of William Godwin
and Holcroft. About 1791 Reveley received his first professional fee as an architect, 10l., for giving some help to Bentham in his Panopticon
scheme (see Bentham, Works, iv. 78, 80, 83). Reveley died on 6 July 1799 from the rupture of a blood-vessel on the brain. Within a month Mrs. Reveley received an offer of marriage from Godwin, whose children she had taken into her house upon the death of the first Mrs. Godwin. She refused Godwin, and in May 1800 married John Gisborne. Gisborne had been in some commercial pursuit. They went to Rome in 1801, and took with them her son, Henry Willey Reveley
, who was educated in Italy, became an engineer, married a sister of Copley Fielding
, the painter, in 1824, and settled in Cape Town
, and ultimately in Western Australia
. The Gisbornes were living at Leghorn about 1815, where Gisborne tried to set up a business, and upon its failure settled down as a quiet student. They paid occasional visits to England, during one of which, in 1820, Shelley wrote his beautiful "Letter to Maria Gisborne." The Shelleys were known to them through the Godwins, and Mrs. Gisborne introduced Shelley to Calderon
. The Gisbornes afterwards returned to England and settled at Plymouth. Mr. Gisborne was buried there 16 January 1836, and Mrs. Gisborne on 23 April following.
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
and Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
.
The daughter of an English merchant at Constantinople named James, was born in 1770, apparently in England. When she was eight years old, her mother, who had been left in poverty, resolved to rejoin her husband, and sailed for Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where she was not welcome. James persuaded her to return to England by the promise of an annuity, but had his daughter stolen and concealed until her mother's departure. He then brought her up carefully. She showed a talent for painting, and grew up a beautiful and accomplished woman. Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
met her at her father's house in 1785, accompanied her on the violin, and said that she was the only woman he had met who could keep time. She soon afterwards married William Reveley, an architect who had been travelling in Greece to make sketches for Sir Richard Worsley
Richard Worsley
General Sir Richard Edward Worsley GCB OBE is a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1980s.-Military career:Educated at Radley College, Worsley was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1942....
. He contributed views in the Levant to the Museum Worsleyanum (1794), and in 1794 edited the third volume of James Stuart's Antiquities of Athens. The marriage was imprudent; and the Reveleys returned to England, where they lived on an income of 140l. a year.
She was the mother of two children before she was twenty. Reveley was a strong liberal, and became a friend of William Godwin
William Godwin
William Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism...
and Holcroft. About 1791 Reveley received his first professional fee as an architect, 10l., for giving some help to Bentham in his Panopticon
Panopticon
The Panopticon is a type of building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late eighteenth century. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe all inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether or not they are being watched...
scheme (see Bentham, Works, iv. 78, 80, 83). Reveley died on 6 July 1799 from the rupture of a blood-vessel on the brain. Within a month Mrs. Reveley received an offer of marriage from Godwin, whose children she had taken into her house upon the death of the first Mrs. Godwin. She refused Godwin, and in May 1800 married John Gisborne. Gisborne had been in some commercial pursuit. They went to Rome in 1801, and took with them her son, Henry Willey Reveley
Henry Willey Reveley
Henry Willey Reveley was a civil engineer responsible for the earliest public works at the Swan River Colony, the foundation of the state of Western Australia....
, who was educated in Italy, became an engineer, married a sister of Copley Fielding
Copley Fielding
Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding , commonly called Copley Fielding, was an English painter born in Sowerby, near Halifax and famous for his watercolour landscapes. At an early age Fielding became a pupil of John Varley...
, the painter, in 1824, and settled in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, and ultimately in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The Gisbornes were living at Leghorn about 1815, where Gisborne tried to set up a business, and upon its failure settled down as a quiet student. They paid occasional visits to England, during one of which, in 1820, Shelley wrote his beautiful "Letter to Maria Gisborne." The Shelleys were known to them through the Godwins, and Mrs. Gisborne introduced Shelley to Calderon
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño usually referred as Pedro Calderón de la Barca , was a dramatist, poet and writer of the Spanish Golden Age. During certain periods of his life he was also a soldier and a Roman Catholic priest...
. The Gisbornes afterwards returned to England and settled at Plymouth. Mr. Gisborne was buried there 16 January 1836, and Mrs. Gisborne on 23 April following.