Sophia Lee

Katharine Rogers (CUNY Graduate Center)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

Born 1750
Died 1824
Activity 1770-1824

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Lee's Works

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Sophia Priscilla Lee, author of fiction and plays and headmistress of a successful school, is chiefly remembered for her novel

The Recess

(1783-85). A bestseller in its own time, it remains an exciting page-turner that narrates the adventures of twin heroines among most of the notable persons of Queen Elizabeth’s court. It was the first novel in England to combine romance and sentiment with a vivid historical background.

Sophia Lee was born in London in 1750, the second of the five children of two busy actors, John and Anna Sophia Lee. They played leading roles in theaters all over the British Isles, and for some years John managed companies in Edinburgh and Bath. It was an unsettled existence, with the family never living in one city longer than six years until they finally settled in

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2149 words

Citation: Rogers, Katharine. "Sophia Lee". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 January 2008; last revised 30 August 2018. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2675, accessed 26 November 2024.]