Maria Linley by Thomas Lawrence.

Maria Linley (10 October 1763 – 5 September 1784) was an English singer.

Life

Maria Linley was born on 10 October 1763[1] and christened two months later on 10 December, at Bath.[2] She was trained as a singer by her father Thomas Linley the elder[2] (one of seven musical siblings born to him and his wife Mary Johnson). She performed in the Drury Lane oratorios and in concerts, possessing a voice similar to that of other family members.[3] As she matured her behaviour changed, she became awkward and "eccentric", leading to arguments with her father, and she left home to stay with her older sister, Mary.[3] Unhappy at having to sleep in a small attic room, she left her sister's house and moved in with a female friend with whom she shared a bed.[4]

When she was twenty years old, in 1784, she went to live in the home of her grandparents in Bath but became very ill soon after her arrival.[5] Maria died on 5 September 1784 from a "brain fever".[6] Her burial place is in Walcot, Bath.[7]

She was also sketched by the British artist Samuel Shelley as Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Black (1911), p. 11
  2. 1 2 Kalinsky (1988), p. 88
  3. 1 2 Chedzoy (1998), p. 229
  4. ↑ Chedzoy (1998), pp. 229–230
  5. ↑ Chedzoy (1998), p. 230
  6. ↑ Kalinsky (1988), p. 89
  7. ↑ Black (1911), p. 166

Bibliography

  • Black, Clementina (1911), The Linleys of Bath, Martin Secker
  • Chedzoy, Alan (1998), Sheridan's Nightingale, Allison & Busby, ISBN 0-7490-0341-3
  • Kalinsky, Nicola (1988), "Maria Linley (1763–1784)", A Nest of Nightingales, by Waterfield, Giles, Dulwich Picture Gallery
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