Person record for Lamb, Mary Anne

Lamb, Mary Anne

Diary Appearances
Biographical Details
Editorial Notes
Bibliography
Acquaintances

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This person is mentioned in the diary a total of 636 times, but was not at home (N) 15 times, and was a venue (V) 253 times.

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Name: Lamb, Mary Anne
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 3 December 1764
Death Date: 20 May 1847
Occupation: children's writer

Mary Lamb was a children's writer and the sister of Godwin's close friend Charles Lamb. She contributed a number of works to Godwin's Juvenile Library, notably Tales from Shakespear, Designed for the Use of Young Persons (1807) which she co-wrote with Charles.

Mentions of 'Lamb' have been treated as referring to Charles, as Godwin seems to distinguish meeting his sister Mary on her own by using 'M Lamb'. Godwin often uses the plural 'Lambs' when meeting them out and these have been read as referring to both Charles and Mary. However, when Godwin calls on Lamb, Mary has not been coded as being present unless she is independently mentioned (see 16 November 1815 'Call on Lamb; adv M Lamb'). We have taken the view that it is more likely than not that Mary is present at meals at their domicile; this is supported from evidence from sources such as Hazlitt's essays and Henry Crabb Robinson's diary where she is portrayed as being a lively member of London's literary circles. As a result, we have taken 'Dine at Lamb's' to include both Charles and Mary. These editorial principles may overstate her presence in the diary but to exclude her from these meals would certainly underplay her presence significantly. Nor do these principles take account of Mary's periods of infirmity for which there is no existing comprehensive record. What is certain, however, is that these periods were intermittent. 'The history of Mary's madness was not disclosed to the public until Thomas Noon Talfourd'sFinal Memorials of Charles Lamb (1848). Charles and Mary lived together until his death, but moved lodging eight times between 1799 and 1823, probably on occasions because Mary's history was known to neighbours.

The criteria we have adopted means that Mary Lamb ends up being coded an average of 30 times a year from the early 1800s, which necessarily shifts established scholarship of her involvement in the Godwin circle. Evidence of her role in the family business further supports this. In 1805, Mary Lamb was commissioned by Mary Jane Godwin to write a volume of Shakespeare for children (Tales from Shakespear, Designed for the Use of Young Persons, 1807) for the Godwin’s ‘Juvenile Library’ publishing venture, and though it initially appeared in Charles Lamb’s name, joint authorship has been determined. The pair continued to maintain both personal and business relations with the Godwins, preparing two further volumes: Mrs Leicester's School, or, The History of Several Young Ladies, Related by themselves and Poetry for Children, Entirely Original, (both published in 1809) (DNB). The mutuality of friendship and business arrangements between the two couples, paired with the steady frequency of meetings indicates that Charles and Mary Lamb were very closely linked to Godwin.

The case of Mary Lamb is slightly complicated by the fact that there is another M Lamb in the diary. She is the daughter of Dr William Lambe and sister of Lacon Lamb who both also appear. Unhelpfully, Godwin does not spell her name correctly, dropping the final e as is his custom. On the other hand, Lambe is a very infrequent occurrence which probably explains why Godwin didn't bother distinguishing her from Mary Lamb. Indeed, he never mentions Lambe's husband, lawyer Saxe Bannister, which suggests the absence of a meaningful relationship. Therefore, only in cases where it is overwhelmingly probable that it is not Mary Lamb is she coded. Criteria for coding as Lambe rather than Lamb are the presence of a Boinville and/or the presence of L Lambe, her brother. Godwin meets her first on 3 Feb 1820 and only a couple of times after that. All M Lambs where she appears by herself are to be taken as Mary Lamb, sister of Charles.

DNB
Locke

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

Name	Number of Meetings
Lamb, Charles	470
Godwin, Mary Jane (Clairmont) (née de Vial)	81
Hazlitt, William	35
Fell, Ralph	33
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (née Godwin)	27
Burney, Martin Charles	27
Marshall, James	27
Fell, Sarah	23
Godwin, William	23
Robinson, Henry Crabb	21
Fenwick, John	18
Fenwick, Elizabeth (Eliza) (née Jaco, pseudonym Reverend David Blair)	17
Manning, Thomas	17
Imlay, Fanny (Godwin)	15
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor	15
Kenney, James	14
Turner, Thomas	13
Holcroft, Louisa (née Mercier)	12
Dawe, George	12
Alsager, Thomas Massa	12
Dyer, George	11
Burney, Captain James	10
White,	9
Reynolds, Elizabeth (née Mansel)	8
Hume, Joseph	8
Rickman, John	8
Hazlitt, Sarah (née Stoddart)	8
Clairmont, Charles	8
Hill, (Thomas)	7
Stoddart, John	7
Dawe, Mary Margaret (Wright)	7
Phillips, Sir Richard (Philip Richards)	6
Burnett, George	6
Clairmont, Clara Mary Jane (Claire)	6
Morgan, John	6
Talfourd, Sir Thomas Noon (Talford)	6
Hume, Alexia	6
Northcote, James	5
Wollstonecraft, James	5
Collier, John Dyer	5
White, Edward	4
Boinville, Cornelia (Turner)	4
Aldis, Charles	4
Ayrton, William	4
Collier, John Payne	4
Holcroft, Fanny Margaretta	4
Fenwick, Eliza Anne	3
Holcroft, Thomas	3
Curran, Amelia	3
Baxter Family,	3
Novello, Vincent	3
Payne, John Howard	3
Smith,	3
Coulson, Walter	3
Hone, William	2
Taylor, John	2
Ogilvie, James (Ogilvy)	2
Curran, John Philpot	2
Brent, Miss Charlotte	2
Hazlitt, John	2
Aldis, Lady Mary Frances (née Berridge)	2
Payne, John and Sarah	2
Tuthill, Sir George Leman	2
Wolcot, Dr John (pseudonym Peter Pindar)	2
Adams, Dr Joseph	2
Williams, Jane (Mrs Hogg)	2
Hill,	2
Boinville, Harriet	1
Rosser, Henry (Blanche)	1
Amyot, Thomas	1
O'Bryen, Dennis (O'Brien)	1
Reid, William Hamilton	1
Botwright,	1
Taylor, Richard	1
Flather, John	1
Orme, Cosmo	1
Hopwood,	1
Masters, M. K.	1
Hunt, Leigh James Henry	1
Harwood, Colonel William	1
Poole, John	1
Newton, John Frank	1
Bevan, Joseph	1
Holcroft, Harwood	1
Lloyd, Robert	1
Hepburn, John	1
Lubé, Denis George	1
	1
Place, Francis	1
Buchan, Dr Alexander Peter	1
Mercier, Charles André	1
Cooper, Grace Mary Rae	1
Allen, Robert	1
Combe, William (Combes)	1
Holcroft, Thomas	1
Nicholson, William	1
LeClercq, Théodore	1
Fiévée, Joseph	1
Southey, Robert	1
	1
Barry, James	1
Gutch, John Matthew	1
Holcroft, Louisa	1
Gent, Thomas	1
	1
Joyce, Jeremiah	1
Burney, Dr Charles	1
Curran, William Henry	1
Wilson,	1
Hogan,	1
Hammond, Elton (Hamond)	1
Morgan, Mary	1
Knapp, Leonora	1
Collier, Jane (Payne)	1
Wordsworth, Dorothy	1
Dubois, Edward	1
Boaden, James	1
Wordsworth, Richard	1
Mulready, William	1
Kemble, John Philip	1
Carlisle, Sir Anthony	1
Rutt, John Towill	1

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