Biographical Information about Eliuzabeth Gunning

Plunkett [née Gunning], Elizabeth (1769-1823)

Elizabeth Gunning, novelist, short story writer, playwright and translator, was born in London in 1769. She was the daughter of novelist Susanna Gunning and Captain John Gunning, decorated soldier of the Battle Bunker Hill. Her aunt Margaret Minifie was also a novelist, completing her writing pedigree. Prior to her career as a writer, though, Gunning's life was embroiled with a great social scandal.

In 1791, young Elizabeth was faced with two suitors. A different parent favored each one. Unfortunately for the family, Miss Gunning sided with her mother and they were both cast out of their lodgings. Mrs. Gunning responded by writing a lengthy (147pages) defense of her daughter entitled A Letter From Mrs. Gunning, Addressed to his Grace, The Duke of Argyll. One of the causes of the parents' disgrace was a letter that had supposedly been forged by their only daughter in an effort to procure a better marriage. Mrs. Gunning believed firmly in Elizabeth's innocence and blamed the incident on cousins named Bowen.

This dramatic family problem became so popular that Horace Walpole began to write satiric articles on it. He even went so far as to dub it "Gunninghiad." People all over London knew about it, allowing the scandal to fill the role of a modern day soap opera. After all of this, more entertainment surfaced. Mr. Gunning had been maintaining a relationship with his tailor's wife. He was sued for damages, and had to pay her husband 5,000 pounds. After paying, he moved to Naples where he spent the rest of his life with his mistress before dying in 1797. The day before he died, he changed his will to leave all of his money to Elizabeth and Susanna, as well as his Irish estate.

During the midst of all of this, Miss Gunning began her writing career. Her first works were The Packet and Lord Fitzhenry, both published in 1794. From here she would go on to write a total of nine novels, two collections of short stories for children, several French translations, and one version of a French play. Early on her style borrowed a great deal from her mother's, and both had a predilection for Welsh settings.

In 1803, she married John Plunkett. Her marriage and her inherited wealth did not stop her writing, however. While her early works were mostly for pure enjoyment and entertainment (many of them reached second edition), her later pieces did begin to incorporate political commentary and didacticism. Both of her short story collections were designed to instruct small children. When she died at the age of fifty-four, her obituary described her as "a lady endowed with many virtues, and considerable accomplishments."

- Prepared by Morgan Smith, University of Nebraska, December 2002