Anna Cora Mowatt (1819–1870)

Anna Cora Mowatt, née Ogden, was born in Bordeaux, France, to an American merchant family. In 1826, when Anna was six years old, they returned to the USA. She was educated at home and also attended private schools. She began writing and acting at a young age. In 1834, at age 15, she eloped with James Mowatt, a wealthy New York lawyer. He encouraged her to continue her education and to write. Her first novel, Pelayo, or The Cavern of Covadonga, was published in 1836, followed by Reviewers Reviewed in 1837, both under the pseudonym "Isabel." She also contributed articles to Graham's Magazine, Godey's Lady's Book, and other periodicals. Under the pseudonym Henry C. Browning, she wrote a biography of Goethe. Using the pseudonym Helen Berkley, she published two more novels, The Fortune Hunter and Evelyn. In 1841, in financial difficulties, she became a public reader. Her readings were popular and well attended, but her reading career was short-lived due to a respiratory illness. She returned to writing and in 1845, became one of the first American women to achieve popular success as a playwright when her play Fashion opened at the Park Theatre to rave reviews. She made another career move to acting and made her debut at the Park Theatre as Pauline in The Lady of Lyons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton with great success. She went on to perform leading roles in Shakespeare, melodramas, and her own plays, and toured the USA and Europe for the next eight years. In 1853, she published her Autobiography of an Actress. Also in 1853, her first husband having died, she remarried to William F. Ritchie. Over the few years, she wrote more novels. Anna left her husband in 1860 and moved to Europe, eventually settling in England. One of her last books was The Clergyman's Wife and Other Sketches (1867).