Laetitia Pilkington (1709–1750)

Laetitia Pilkington, née van Lewen, was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Dr. van Lewen, a Dutch-born physician and Elizabeth Corry, from an aristocratic family. She began writing poetry at a young age, and this, with her vivacity, brought her many admirers. In 1725, she married the Rev. Matthew Pilkington of the Church of Ireland and became part of the literary circle around Jonathan Swift. Matthew Pilkington was appointed chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London with Swift's help. The couple moved to London in 1732, but were back in Dublin by 1734. They quarreled bitterly and divorced four years later. Laetitia went back to London, where she hoped to make a living as a writer. In 1739, she published the long poem The Statues, or the Trial of Constancy, and the satire An Excursory View on the Present State of Men and Things, but was in financial trouble. With help from her friend Colley Cibber, she was supported for some time by contributions from wealthy patrons, but eventually she was imprisoned in the Marshalsea gaol for debt. After three months, she was released and opened a book shop and a print shop in St. James' Street that seem to have prospered. She returned to Dublin in 1747 and published the first two volume of her Memoirs, the work for which she is best known. The third volume was published posthumously by her son John Pilkington. Besides these works, she wrote two plays and an opera. After her death, her witty sayings were collected in a book called The Celebrated Mrs. Pilkington's Jests (1764).